There are few regions more fully equipped than Central Illinois for the lab-to-line bioprocessing lifespan. The 51-mile radius that makes up the iFAB Tech Hub is at the heart of corn and soybean production, home to world-class facilities such as the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab (IBRL) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and within close reach of biomanufacturing essentials.
However, these assets alone are not what makes the iFAB region (comprising Champaign, Piatt, and Macon counties) a global leader for biomanufacturing. The true formula for success requires another key piece: close collaboration with partners who put these assets to use. This is why iFAB stresses the importance of partnership within its biomanufacturing ecosystem. Innovation doesn’t happen within a vacuum; rather, it’s born out of the shared vision and resources of many key players.
Enter Erg Bio, the latest strategic partner to join the iFAB Tech Hub. Erg Bio is a biotechnology company focused on a central challenge in the bioeconomy: how to most efficiently and economically utilize waste biomass.
Waste biomass includes organic residues from agricultural and forestry operations, such as crop residues, husks, branches, sawdust, and other underutilized materials. Erg Bio’s “waste not” mentality is leading the way to a vital biomanufacturing revolution where this waste biomass is transformed into synthetic aviation fuels and biochemicals.
How will Erg Bio achieve this? Through their ASPIRE™ technology, a solvent pretreatment that can process biomass feedstocks without the need for high temperatures, harsh chemicals, or large quantities of water—all characteristics of traditional pretreatment methods which ultimately cost a lot of money and energy.
Erg Bio recently closed its $6.5 million seed round, led by Azolla Ventures. A seed funding round refers to the initial money raised by startups to help turn their ideas into action and tangible products. In addition to this funding, Erg Bio also received grants from the Department of War. This money will go towards scaling up Erg Bio’s ASPIRE™ technology, accomplished in partnership with another newly welcomed strategic partner to iFAB: Next Rung Technology, an engineering and consulting company focused on commercializing emerging technologies.
“The uniqueness of the ASPIRE technology allows us to process an enormous variety of interchangeable organic materials into needed fuels and chemicals – enabling localized biomanufacturing, increasing supply chain resilience, and reducing the need for extensive transportation infrastructure,” says Vineet Rajgarhia, Co-Founder and CEO of Erg Bio. “The IBRL pilot facility has the flexibility to receive all of these different materials from any location to be validated and scaled for commercial readiness.”
Erg Bio will make the most of this funding by working right here in Central Illinois and taking advantage of iFAB’s many resources. The bulk of Erg Bio’s research and development, for example, will take place at IBRL in partnership with the facility’s technical team and equipment resources. They’ll be able to help with every step of Erg Bio’s system due to IBRL’s end-to-end processing ability.
Things are already off to a strong start. In addition to IBRL’s flexibility in bringing new equipment in for the project, support has been in place from the very beginning to get the process up and running, with efforts led by IBRL staff Marissa Nyland (Assistant Director of Operations and Safety) and Tom McKenna (Senior Pilot Plant Specialist for Downstream Processing). More members of IBRL’s full-time trained staff will contribute work to the project, as well as two of IBRL’s interns from the Professional Science Master’s Program.
While this work is being done, Erg Bio will need a local place to lay their hat and continue building connections, which is where the University of Illinois Research Park comes in. The Research Park (currently home to 120 companies and growing) is a leading technology hub for both startups and corporate innovation, providing access to the University’s talent and technology. With lab and office spaces available to lease, the Research Park will be home to Erg Bio’s Illinois office for the foreseeable future.
“Erg Bio has found the perfect place to scale its operations in the iFAB region right here at Research Park,” said Laura Appenzeller, Executive Director and member of the iFAB leadership team. “Our region is attracting a critical mass of bioprocessing companies innovating new bioproducts across the supply chain and we are supporting them through entrepreneurial resources at the EnterpriseWorks incubator.”
Erg Bio’s new presence within iFAB is an ideal scenario, one where a growing biomanufacturing company comes to Illinois from out of state looking to set up shop and scale up, bringing its innovative ideas right to the doorstep of our region’s thriving bioeconomy.
This is exactly what iFAB was designed to do.
