DECHEMA: In your statement, you emphasize the need to shift the bioeconomy’s focus from specialties to core molecules. Could you elaborate on what you see as the most significant challenges and opportunities in making this transition, and how it will concretely contribute to revolutionizing the chemical industry?
Eva Wilke: "Biotechnology has proven its strength in performance-driven specialty markets, where selectivity, complexity, and functionality create real value. However, if it is to contribute meaningfully to the transformation of the chemical industry, it must increasingly address core molecules and larger-volume applications.
This transition comes with fundamentally different challenges. At scale, economics become decisive: feedstock availability and cost, process efficiency, and carbon utilization must compete with highly optimized petrochemical systems. In addition, the thermodynamic starting point is less favorable, as biogenic feedstocks are typically more oxidized and require additional processing and energy input.
At the same time, biotechnology offers a clear opportunity by providing an efficient pathway to introduce green carbon into chemical value chains—provided that feedstock costs are competitive. What is changing, however, is the pace of technological progress. Advances in CRISPR, metabolic engineering, and AI are continuously expanding accessible feedstocks, enabling new production organisms, and improving process efficiency. As a result, performance benchmarks are not static—they are shifting.
The role of biotechnology will therefore not be to replace petrochemistry, but to complement it where it creates real and evolving value—both in specialties and, increasingly, in selected core molecules."
DECHEMA: Your talk title asks if biotechnology is the key to this revolution. Looking at the practical implementation, what are the most critical success factors for scaling up biotechnological processes, and how must existing industrial value chains be rethought to integrate these new technologies effectively?
Eva Wilke: "The successful scaling of biotechnological processes is not just a question of technology—it is a question of system alignment. Three factors are particularly critical. First, the alignment of what I describe as the “three clocks”: technology readiness, market demand, and system-level infrastructure. Many promising approaches fail not because they are scientifically unfeasible, but because these dimensions do not progress at the same pace.
Second, feedstock and process economics remain decisive. Competitive and scalable raw materials, efficient downstream processing, and overall cost competitiveness are key challenges—especially when benchmarked against highly optimized petrochemical systems.
At the same time, it is important to recognize that these benchmarks are evolving rapidly. Advances in programmable biology are enabling more efficient strains, access to new feedstocks such as waste streams, CO₂ or methanol, and entirely new process concepts. This continuous improvement is a critical driver for future competitiveness."
DECHEMA: The DECHEMA FORUM aims to foster dialogue between science and industry. From your perspective, what specific forms of collaboration and knowledge exchange between academic research and industrial players like BASF are most urgently needed to accelerate the development of sustainable and competitive biotechnological solutions?
Eva Wilke: "To accelerate industrial biotechnology, closer and more targeted collaboration between academia and industry is essential. One key priority is bridging the gap between early-stage research and industrial implementation. This requires stronger support for pilot and demonstration-scale activities, as well as joint development models that share risk and accelerate learning.
At the same time, closer alignment on system-relevant challenges is needed. In addition to scientific breakthroughs, topics such as scale-up, robustness, feedstock flexibility, and process efficiency must be addressed early on.
Importantly, the pace of technological progress has increased significantly. Advances in genome engineering, data-driven design, and AI are rapidly expanding what is technically possible. To translate this into industrial impact, we need faster iteration cycles and closer feedback loops between lab and industrial application. New collaboration models, including public–private partnerships and co-funded projects, will be critical to keep pace with this development and ensure that innovation is translated into scalable and competitive solutions."
