Genomic Science Program
U.S. Department of Energy | Office of Science | Biological and Environmental Research Program

Frontier Science for the Bioeconomy Workshop Series

The four-part Frontier Science for the Bioeconomy series defines frontiers of plant science, agriculture, synthetic biology, biobased materials, and environmental microbiome science that will unlock the promise of an innovative, resilient U.S. bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy is economic activity driven by research and involving innovation in the life sciences, engineering, and biomanufacturing. It includes industries, products (e.g., chemicals, biomass and seed oil feedstocks, and bioproducts), services, and processes derived from plant and microbial resources.

Hosted by the DOE Biological and Environmental Research program, the four workshops behind the report series brought together hundreds of participants from academia, industry, and DOE national laboratories, with expertise spanning plant physiology, plant genetics, genomics, computational biology, modeling, microbiology, and ecology.

Reports

Crop Production

Resilient Crop Production for the Bioeconomy

Workshop Date: October 30–November 1, 2024

Report Download: Fast-download PDF

Vision: Determine, predict, and improve the functioning of plants and their microbiomes in the environment to optimize biomass feedstock production.

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Engineering Microbial Communities

Workshop Date: December 16–18, 2024

Report Download: Fast-download PDF

Vision: Understand the assembly, function, and behavior of microbiomes and how to manipulate them to facilitate microbial energy solutions and advance their utility across the bioeconomy.

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Microbial Design for a Developing Bioeconomy

Workshop Date: January 28–30, 2025

Report Download: Fast-download PDF

Vision: Harness and leverage the diverse genetic and metabolic potential of microbes as platforms to efficiently produce biofuels, biproducts, and biomaterials for a thriving bioeconomy.

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Plant Design for a Developing Bioeconomy

Workshop Date: March 12–14, 2025

Report Download: Fast-download PDF

Vision: Understand and manipulate potential biomass crops to efficiently generate biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials under variable abiotic stresses.