The Bio Innovations North America conference agenda, running parallel to the 1-2-1 meetings program, was designed to drive the event’s core mission of driving the commercialization of US industrial biomanufacturing.
Carefully curated panels and keynotes sparked transformative 1-2-1 commercial discussions. Hand-picked speakers delivered actionable insights and solutions to critical industry challenges, helping unlock the immense potential of America’s bioeconomy.
08:00
Welcome coffee & registration
09:00
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Paul MacDonald, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Bio Innovations North America
09:10
Opening Address
Connecting hubs to unlock scale-up: Combining America's advantages to achieve global biomanufacturing leadership
The Midwest offers abundant feedstocks. The Gulf Coast brings chemical processing expertise. The East and West Coasts add innovation and vast pools of V.C. and growth capital to the mix. Together these key hubs offer America an unmatched opportunity to lead the world in industrial biomanufacturing, securing supplies of critical chemicals and materials, while creating jobs and wealth across the country. Explore how America can build on its strengths to forge a truly national biomanufacturing network to scale the sector. The session will consider the risks of continued fragmentation, where missed opportunities to scale up may lead to supply-chain vulnerabilities, offshoring of critical technologies, and a ceding of global leadership to state-subsidized competitors.
09:30
Guest Keynote Address
10:00
IFF
10:15
X, The Moonshot Factory
10:30
The good, the bad, the ugly: What's working and what needs to change for U.S. Industrial biomanufacturing to achieve its scale-up ambitions?
This candid high level session evaluates the state of U.S. industrial biomanufacturing in 2026. We look at the sectors core strengths: abundant feedstocks, deep capital market potential, expandinig innovation and piloting hubs and early commercialization wins. And we confront escalating challenges: frozen IRA funding, tariff-driven cost hikes and trade disruptions, regulatory delays, and geopolitical challenges from competitors. What are the pros and cons of the Biosecure Act: onshoring benefits and domestic security gains vs. supply chain disruptions, transition costs, and policy uncertainty. And finally we consider what the sector needs in terms of private sector participation, state incentives, national coordination and regulatory clarity to realize the its full potential and maintain global biomanufactutring supremacy.
11:00
Networking coffee
11:45
PANEL DISCUSSION
Biosolutions transforming the chemical industry: Opportunities, challenges, and the AI edge for U.S. chemical leaders
Hear from chemical company leaders on the opportunities they see for enhancing product portfolios, meeting net zero targets and capturing sustainable product premiums, by transitioning capacity to bio-based feedstocks and biomanufacturing processeses, often accelerated by AI-driven strain and process optimization. From bio-monomers, bio-propylene, bio-acetyls, and other drop-in solutions, the panel will consider key opportunities such as IRA/Biosecure legislation and incentives and U.S. biomass availability, alongside real-world challenges such as retrofitting costs, labor dynamics and global competition, to outline a strategic roadmap for chemical giants to successfully pivot toward a bio-augmented future.
12:15
A technical presentation from a leading bio pioneer
If you think your company would be a good fit for speaking here, please email [email protected]
12:30
A technical presentation from a leading bio pioneer
If you think your company would be a good fit for speaking here, please email [email protected]
12:45
A technical presentation from a leading bio pioneer
If you think your company would be a good fit for speaking here, please email [email protected]
13:00
Networking lunch
14:30
Panel discussion
Lessons from the front line: Strategies for scale-up successes and pitfalls to avoid
The journey from lab to commercial plant is rarely straightforward, with the behaviour of microbes hard to predict at scale. Hear from those who have successfully (and sometimes painfully) scaled novel bioprocesses, as they share hard-won lessons on navigating common challenges and provide insights into proven accelerators. What can be done to mitigate the risk of yield drops at scale, contamination events, feedstock volatility, regulatory and technical delays and IP/security risks? How can new technologies such as AI/digital twins and continuous/modular processing derisk scale-up. And how can strategic partnerships with incumbents and CDMOs, and access to shared pilot infrastructure shorten timelines, reduce risk, and increase the probability of reaching full-scale success.
15:00
A technical presentation from a leading bio pioneer
If you think your company would be a good fit for speaking here, please email [email protected]
15:15
A technical presentation from a leading bio pioneer
If you think your company would be a good fit for speaking here, please email [email protected]
15:30
Networking refreshments
16:00
PANEL DISCUSSION
Funding scale-up: Filling the "missing middle"
Scaling industrial biomanufacturing demands hundreds of millions in capital, yet many projects stall in the “valley of death” with investors hesitating due to long paybacks, technical uncertainty, and policy volatility. This investor-focused panel brings together leading growth capital providers, infrastructure funds and corporate venture arms, alongside public-sector funding providers to explore funding solutions to fill the “missing middle”. What are the technical and commercial milestone projects must achieve to become investable? And how can developers, financiers, strategics and government align to unlock the investment America needs to unleash its world leading biomanufacturing potential.
16:30
A technical presentation from a leading bio pioneer
If you think your company would be a good fit for speaking here, please email [email protected]
16:45
Consider Corn Challenge
Consider Corn Challenge 6
The 6th NCGA’s Consider Corn Challenge is about finding game-changing new uses for field corn, leading to products with significant market demand, without detracting from an existing corn market. The winners of the Consider Corn Challenge VI will be announced live on stage at Bio Innovations North America 2026, with the winners presenting their pioneering bio-based chemicals and products.
National Corn Growers Association