You might not have heard of bioindustrial manufacturing, but it’s time that you changed that. Biotechnology is poised to transform manufacturing, national security, and the global economy — and BioMADE’s Maple Grove facility will play a major role in that vision.

In this episode of the Twin Cities Business Show, we sat down with Jill Zullo, Chief Operating Officer of BioMADE, to discuss how microbes can turn corn, sugar, and other agricultural products into everything from plastics and chemicals to aviation materials and even cement. Before joining BioMADE, Jill had a long-running career at Cargill where she helped with the commercialization of scientific products and served as CEO of NatureWorks, a Cargill joint venture to help build plastics from petroleum-free sources. This episode also explores why the U.S. Department of Defense is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into bioindustrial manufacturing, how Minnesota landed one of the country’s largest pilot-scale biotechnology facilities in Maple Grove, and what it will take to turn breakthrough science into billion-dollar businesses.

Whether you’re interested in manufacturing, startups, biotechnology, venture capital, supply chains, or the future of American industry, this conversation offers a fascinating look at one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy.

In this episode:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:28 How does a cucumber become a pickle?
• 01:29 What BioMADE does and why it matters
• 03:46 Why the Department of Defense is investing in biotechnology
• 06:23 How do you turn corn into cement?
• 07:50 What is synthetic biology?
• 09:00 Why even Cargill had to pilot new technologies overseas
• 11:22 Why Minnesota is becoming a biotechnology hub
• 13:19 What it will take to attract more bio-manufacturing to Minnesota
• 16:17 The airplane tire made from dandelions
• 19:53 How Minnesota landed BioMADE’s flagship pilot facility
• 21:37 Why building pilot plants is so difficult
• 27:14 The race to replace petroleum-based plastics
• 30:52 What BioMADE hopes to accomplish over the next decade
• 33:00 Why America can’t let these factories move overseas
• 36:39 Jill Zullo’s career — from the University of Minnesota and Cargill to BioMADE
• 39:39 How to turn science into money
• 41:39 Building the biotechnology workforce of the future
• 43:03 What success looks like for BioMADE