CJ CheilJedang targets the green bio and white bio biofoundry markets with a biological process combined with artificial intelligence (AI). Green bio refers to food, while white bio pertains to the chemical and energy materials industry. The plan is to introduce AI into the production process to reduce energy expenses while increasing production capacity, thus achieving innovation in efficiency.
Park Chan-hoon, Head of Team at CJ CheilJedang's Bio Research Institute, held a press conference on the 3rd at the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC) during the 'Spring Academic Presentation Conference and International Symposium of the Korean Society for Biotechnology' and noted, "We succeeded in increasing the production capacity by 10% in some microbial fermentation processes with the introduction of AI," adding, "This year, we are aiming to increase yield efficiency by 20% through our research."
A biofoundry is a large factory that produces desired substances using animal cells or microorganisms. It is also referred to as a 'cell factory.' It is the same concept as the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) collaborations of Samsung Biologics and Celltrion for new drug development. CJ CheilJedang has established the first biofoundry among domestic food corporations, venturing into the production of food raw materials such as amino acids and seasonings, as well as the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and processes for recycling PET.
The biofoundry is gaining attention as an environmentally friendly process that can replace chemical processes. However, there is a limitation that the production cost is higher compared to chemical processes. While chemical processes are relatively easy to predict and optimize for production efficiency, biological processes are currently difficult to predict for production volume or defect rates with existing technology.
Park noted, "In traditional chemical processes, the results calculated by engineers are directly reflected, but in biological processes, it often happens that the target substance does not come out, or entirely new substances appear," explaining that "it is theoretically difficult to predict and optimize biological processes."
CJ CheilJedang is addressing these expense issues by introducing AI. The strategy is to optimize complex variables that are challenging even for engineers to calculate using AI.
Park mentioned, "We have been utilizing process data accumulated since 2019 to train AI," and added, "We initially started with the goal of reducing energy consumption by 2%, but in some processes, we have confirmed an energy savings rate exceeding our expectations at 10%."
AI is also being utilized to develop cells (strains) used in processes beyond just the biofoundry process. Park explained, "We have built an automated experiment system to discover new strains by training AI with genetic information," adding, "Based on this, we have established a system to verify whether large-scale production is possible."
He expressed optimism about the growth of the biofoundry business, noting the increasing number of clients looking for products that have reduced carbon dioxide emissions. While it is still challenging to surpass chemical processes in terms of expenses, he pointed out that the biological process emits almost no carbon dioxide during production, making it competitive.
Park noted, "Some clients even demand data on carbon dioxide emissions before commissioning production, indicating that interest in environmental issues has increased across the industry."
He continued, "Especially in the green bio sector, there are not many competitors globally," expressing optimism that building AI technology could enable the possibility of providing licensing for biofoundry process designs without direct investment in facilities.