BioP2P Staff
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center in June held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the center’s $50 million renovated and expanded biomanufacturing pilot facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
The 25,000-square-foot facility fills a vital niche in the effort to free the nation from foreign suppliers and pioneer the creation of entirely new materials essential for national defense.
Academic and Department of Defense research laboratories are synthesizing microbes that can produce chemicals and materials with extraordinary properties, but only at a gram-sized scale. The expanded facility increases production capability for these materials from the gram-size level to up to 1,000 kilograms so that industry can further scale production to the commercial level for real-world applications. DEVCOM scientists also optimize the microbes they receive to make them more suitable for scale-up.
“Eventually, when this hub and the entire biomanufacturing ecosystem is up and running, the economic impact will be felt across the nation,” said Michael Bailey, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Chemical Biological Center director. “These investments are being made today and will pay off tomorrow.”
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