This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:21:12
The video centers around the advancements and challenges in the field of biomaterials, particularly focusing on mycelium-based alternatives to traditional animal leather. The speaker praises community contributions and highlights crucial 2023 developments in biofabrication, stressing the importance of quality, sustainability, and scalability for biomaterial success. Traditional animal leather's unique qualities are examined, with specific attention to its collagen structure, leading to a discussion of fine mycelium's comparable benefits, such as high tensile strength and sustainability.
Microworks and their fine mycelium technology are spotlighted, showing how their innovative approaches to batch processing with mycelium in their South Carolina plant have led to significant cost reductions and production efficiencies. Despite automation, human touch remains pivotal for maintaining material quality. Through strategic partnerships with tanneries and designers, they have developed and scaled high-quality mycelium materials, culminating in creating luxurious products like the Togo chair with French partner L Jose.
The narrative concludes by exploring the future potential of synthetic biology in enhancing biomaterial properties, such as gene editing to innovate material attributes, thus challenging the industry to rethink biomaterials not as mere replacements but as avenues for novel design and innovation.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, the speaker commends Suzanne for her contributions to the community during a challenging year and acknowledges the achievements of entrepreneurs, artists, and biologists in 2023, particularly in the field of biofabrication. The speaker highlights a critical turning point in the industry, noting both successes and the failure of a flawed biomaterials company as a sign the market is moving beyond short-term solutions. The speaker then introduces the key elements necessary for a biomaterial to succeed: quality, sustainability, and scalability, using leather as a framework for discussion. The speaker questions whether the goal should be to replace or improve upon existing materials, emphasizing the unique qualities of animal leather and the skepticism surrounding vegan leather alternatives, which often feel like plastic. The speaker concludes by stating that the debate over leather’s future is secondary to the broader discussion of new material adoption.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the unique qualities of animal leather that make it valuable, such as its texture, directionality, grain, and ability to change over time. These characteristics distinguish leather from plastic materials. The speaker highlights that leather’s structure comprises collagen molecules in a triple helix, leading to its distinct properties. The focus then shifts to the development of fine mycelium at Mic Works, a material designed to mimic the fibrous structure of leather. Fine mycelium offers significant advantages, including high tensile strength and a superior hand feel, achieved through careful manipulation of mycelium cells during growth. The speaker emphasizes that for a biomaterial to succeed in the market, quality is critical, and fine mycelium meets this criterion while also being sustainable and responsible.
00:06:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the sustainability and scalability of RAC, a super sustainable biomaterial. It highlights that fine melium, the main ingredient, has an incredibly low carbon footprint and uses minimal water in a chrome-free, fast, and clean tanning process. Notably, no deforestation is involved as it primarily uses waste sawdust. Due to these factors, their plant in South Carolina has been recognized as a solid waste recycling facility.
The speaker also addresses the challenge of scalability in biomaterials, comparing roll-to-roll and batch processing methods. While roll-to-roll processes are familiar in the industry and widely used for textiles and semiconductors, they can be costly. Conversely, batch processing, often deemed artisanal and expensive, can be economical, as exemplified by bread baking. Microworks utilizes batch processing for fine melium, which offers better control over inputs and processes. Their technology involves manipulating mycelium in stackable trays in a stable environment, allowing specific interventions during the growth process. The speaker presents the economics of batch processing at their California pilot plant, considering labor, energy, and raw materials as the three major inputs.
00:09:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the cost distribution for producing materials with mycelium in comparison to traditional materials like metals, glasses, and ceramics. Notably, mycelium production has a lower raw material cost because it uses cheap waste sawdust and requires minimal energy, leading to labor constituting about two-thirds of the overall cost. To address this, they explore automation at their pilot plant to reduce, but not completely eliminate, human labor. They realized that full automation is not desirable as human interaction is crucial for maintaining the quality of the product. They focused on minimizing non-essential human tasks while preserving key quality-touch tasks, successfully reducing human labor time from 18 hours per tray significantly by removing less critical manual operations.
00:12:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the efficiency and scalability of producing fine mycelium, highlighting that it takes about 1.3 human hours per tray and is very economical. The speaker reveals insights into their new plant in South Carolina, which began construction in August 2022 and started operating in September 2023. Remarkably, the plant produced its first sheets of fine mycelium by November 2023, surpassing schedule expectations. This plant, the largest biomaterials and alternative leather production facility, spans 136,000 square feet and uses 50,000 trays along with specialized automated systems. The process includes barcoded trays managed to customer specifications and a combination of automated and human operations to ensure quality. The speaker emphasizes the significance of performance and quality for the material’s success.
00:15:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the challenges and strategies involved in improving the performance and scalability of leather materials. They highlight the importance of yields during production, consumer return rates, and the business side for brands. The company made a strategic choice to partner closely with various industry stakeholders such as tanneries, fabricators, and designers to test and scale their products, despite facing failures and losing potential partners initially.
A significant breakthrough is announced: a new approach to tanning melium that achieves advanced levels of lubrication, penetration, and fixation comparable to traditional animal leathers. This innovation has led to the establishment of a full-scale plant producing high-quality, sustainable biomaterials. The successful creation of the Togo chair in collaboration with French luxury furniture partner L Jose is showcased. The segment poses questions about whether the new material is simply a leather alternative or represents a new category with greater value due to its physical performance and low carbon footprint. The speaker envisions a future with customizable, high-quality materials that are sustainable and locally produced.
00:18:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the potential and future of biomaterials, specifically focusing on melium. They highlight the advancements made through their fine melium process, which significantly improves its tensile strength. The speaker explores the possibilities of altering cell composition and structure to create innovative materials. They emphasize the groundbreaking potential of synthetic biology for tuning existing systems like melium rather than just producing new biochemicals. The speaker provides examples of how gene editing can modify melium, such as making it glow red. They challenge the audience to think beyond replacing traditional materials and instead approach biomaterial adoption as a design problem, encouraging the creation of new, innovative products and materials.