KAIST's Lee Sang-yeop outlines AI‑driven roadmap for biomanufacturing scale‑up

KAIST professor Lee Sang‑yeop and his research team presented an AI‑based strategy to overcome key bottlenecks in commercializing biomanufacturing, which uses microorganisms instead of petroleum to produce chemicals such as succinic acid and the biodegradable plastic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). The team highlighted the “death valley” gap between laboratory breakthroughs and industrial scale, and proposed a phased roadmap that starts with high‑value markets (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food ingredients) before expanding to broader applications.

AI techniques, including enzyme and microbial design, digital‑twin simulations of production processes, and combined economic‑environmental analysis, are expected to shorten development time, cut costs, and improve competitiveness. Lee emphasized that “the fusion of systems metabolic engineering and AI is the key technology to solve these bottlenecks and advance the biomanufacturing era.” The findings were published in Nature Communications and are aimed at accelerating the transition from a petroleum‑based chemical industry to a greener bio‑economy.

The research comes amid global concerns over oil supply volatility, underscoring the strategic importance of alternative feedstocks for plastics, fibers and drug precursors.