Programs

• Engineering Biology Metrics and Technical Standards for the Global Bioeconomy

  *UPDATE* 5/7/2024 – The full report is out now! Click here to read the report.

  EBRC, with partners at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Imperial College London, and the National University of Singapore (NUS), and supported by Schmidt Futures, have published a report focused on determining the engineering biology metrics and technical standards needed to accelerate the global bioeconomy. The report summarizes the key findings that emerged from global stakeholder discussions, pulling together common themes and identified needs that arose across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

  Within six key areas — data standards, metrology and metrics to quantify biological processes, scale-up and scale-out, lexicon and terminology, metrics and standardization for sustainability assessments, and standards to enable use of biomass feedstocks — opportunities are identified for focused activities to develop technical standards and metrics that will enable enhanced performance across the bioeconomy: improving reproducibility, supporting continued scale-up, and accelerating commercialization and industrial growth. A series of non-technical areas are also identified and explored, including: training and education on standards and metrics, engagement with the public and improvement of public perception and trust, regulatory clarity, and biosafety and biosecurity. As well as focusing on areas of common understanding, the report elaborates on some areas where distinct differences exist and global consensus might not be reached, highlighting these as potential focus areas for regional or national efforts going forward.

  More information about the project and activities are available here.

  Task Force Leadership:
  India Hook-Barnard – EBRC
  Elizabeth Strychalski – NIST
  Paul Freemont – Imperial College London
  Matthew Chang – National University of Singapore
  Andrea Hodgson – Schmidt Futures