CHICAGO — Biomanufacturing and precision fermentation are not new technologies, but it’s only been during the past few years that they have gained recognition for their potential to produce food and food ingredients in more sustainable manners. With Illinois being a major producer of corn and soy — the media often used in these biotechnologies — it made sense for the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub to be awarded approximately $51 million from the Tech Hubs Program through the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

Led by the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the iFAB consortium includes 30 partner organizations representing academic, industry, government and nonprofits. ADM, Chicago, is one such partner. With a sizable presence in the central Illinois farming community, ADM has provided grants and investments earlier this year to support the continued development of iFAB.

“We’re proud to be part of this effort,” said Greg Webb, vice president of state and local government relations at ADM. “This tech hub is a way for our region to lead in the future of biotechnology, and for ADM to continue to support precision fermentation, which represents a great opportunity to continue to expand the universe of sustainably sourced products spanning the industries in which we participate.”

Jim Stutelberg, chief executive officer, Primient, Schaumburg, Ill., another partner food ingredient company, said, “The grant award is a testament to the dedication of the iFAB leadership and partners who had a clear vision from the start. For Primient, this is the next step in our journey of renewing, modernizing and growing to meet the potential of the bioeconomy, building leadership and partnership in new and emerging sectors, which sets us apart.”

Federal and partner financial support is helping leverage IBRL’s five years of operational success.

“Companies come here to prove their technologies, and our aim is for them to remain in the region and establish early manufacturing facilities to progress from ideation to commercialization,” said Beth Conerty, iFAB principal investigator and the associate director of business development at IBRL, which is part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and The Grainger College of Engineering. “This grant positions central Illinois as a global leader in biomanufacturing and precision fermentation, thereby supporting national security, economic growth and job generation.

“Biomanufacturing allows for more refined products to be created as a part of bio-based and agricultural businesses, while precision fermentation does more than just make corn into ethanol for fuel. Specialized bioprocessing can create more advanced types of food protein, new types of textiles and fibers, more modern polymers, and commercial grades of oils and lipids, pigments and even cosmetics. This breadth in output allows for more market stability in bio-based businesses.”

Precision fermentation already is used to make several food ingredients, including natural flavors, rennet, vitamins and stevia. But it is recent advancements in cellular agriculture — the process of using precision fermentation to produce genuine animal proteins — that is fueling interest and innovation.

“Our goal is to make central Illinois the go-to destination for enterprises turning scientific advancements into real-world, eco-friendly solutions that redefine industrial chemistry,” Conerty said.

Right now about 30% of all Illinois corn is sold by farmers for ethanol production. With the rise in electric vehicles, they need to find a new outlet for their crops. That new outlet is as a medium for microorganisms to precisely convert it to valuable compounds, including food and food ingredients. Such technology improves the country’s food security by producing more food for people to eat.

It’s not much different than how ruminant animals eat grasses that humans cannot consume. The microorganisms in their stomach convert the grasses into edible milk and meat. Instead of using a cow’s stomach, this conversion takes place in a bioreactor.

However, Conerty points out that iFAB currently does not do work with mammalian cells. She also said there are other tech hubs working in precision fermentation, but for human health applications, such as vaccines and antibodies.

“iFAB is the only one focused on food and industrial biomanufacturing,” Conerty said. “As we look to the future, iFAB is not just fostering innovation; we are actively inviting businesses and entrepreneurs to join us in central Illinois. Our facilities, resources and expertise are geared toward transforming bold ideas into market-ready solutions that lead the way in environmental stewardship and economic growth. Together, we can redefine the landscape of industrial manufacturing, making it greener, more efficient and infinitely more sustainable.”