Biofoundries as a Pillar of Canada’s Defence and Bioeconomy

Introduction

Strategic investments in biomanufacturing have played a key role in defence for many years, at times even influencing global conflicts. During World War I, the Allies faced a critical shortage of raw materials such as natural rubber, which was imported from regions vulnerable to German U-boat attacks. In response, the British government funded research into synthetic rubber, which led to the development of the first microbial strains producing valuable chemicals on an industrial scale.

At the time, Dr. Chaim Weizmann was working on the use of microbes to produce synthetic rubber when he discovered that the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum could be used to convert grain into acetone via what became known as the Weizmann process. Acetone was essential for manufacturing cordite gunpowder, and Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George approached Weizmann to scale up production., This resulted in approximately 30,000 tons of acetone being produced by fermentation by the end of the war, including 2,450 tons produced from corn in Canada, giving a competitive advantage to the Allies.

This historical example underscores how defence-driven research and development (R&D) has harnessed biology to transform manufacturing in previously unimaginable ways. A contemporary version of this kind of transformative investment is the DARPA initiative Living Foundries: 1000 Molecules, which funded research to use engineered cells to produce novel molecules with direct military or dual-use applications. Funding was specifically directed to biofoundries: facilities that harness automated and living systems to accelerate the design-build-test-learn cycle of biological engineering. Just as assembly line robotics revolutionized vehicle manufacturing, the combination of laboratory automation and dedicated talent housed at a biofoundry can perform thousands of experiments dailey, getting to results faster than manual methods alone. The DARPA program exceeded its goal, demonstrating biobased production of  over 1600 molecules to meet defence needs through scalable, automated infrastructure, while also serving wider societal purposes. As Canada significantly increases its defence budget, adding over $100 billion annually, it is vital to pair defence procurement with a robust science and innovation strategy. To that end, we propose a national network of biofoundries in Canada to unlock transformative innovation, with partners spanning academia, industry, and the defence sector.

The Promise of Advanced Biomanufacturing and Precision Fermentation

Canada’s biomanufacturing strategy, developed in response to COVID-19, has focused on strengthening domestic vaccine and cell therapy production. This provides a foundation for broader applications such as food security, industrial chemicals, and high-value molecules, including enzymes, pharmaceuticals, novel materials, and specialty chemicals. These applications leverage similar talent and equipment and have defence relevance ranging from the development of nutrient-dense and shelf-stable foods (suitable for military deployments and disaster relief) to the production of ultra-light and ultra-durable polymers, adhesives and coatings for military gear. There is also plenty of scope for dual-use, such as leveraging fermentation platforms predominantly used for food production, then switching to biodefence applications such as the production of antimicrobials or engineered microbes to sense explosive residues as demand requires. 

Biofoundries offer advantages such as versatility and scalability due to their modular, customizable design and automation. They are also key hubs of talent spanning artificial intelligence, machine learning, molecular biology, lab automation, and precision fermentation – disciplines with competitive economic and defence advantages. This concentrated expertise and infrastructure are directly applicable to agriculture, which can enable Canada to address improving productivity and global competitiveness while delivering economic and societal benefits . Fermentation uses less land, water, and produces lower emissions than traditional petrochemicals, spurring economic growth and maintaining Canada’s net-zero commitments. This aligns with programs that support clean technologies in multiple industrial sectors, such as the Low Carbon Economy Fund, the Innovative Solutions Canada program and the Net Zero Accelerator Initiative.9 Similarly, the National Research Council’s 2024–2029 Strategic Plan highlights expanding biomanufacturing capacity as a means to accelerate the deployment of new drugs, by producing them at scale for the benefit of all Canadians. 

A National Network of Biofoundries

Biofoundries of varying capacity and scope already exist at several publicly funded facilities across Canada. However, this cutting-edge research infrastructure and the talent required to operate it are continually on “soft money”, competing for the same pools of research grants rather than working together in a coordinated, long-term collaboration. As biotechnology product development can take over a decade from discovery to market, requiring manufacturing to scale from the size of raindrops up to hundreds of thousands of litres, sustained support and access to a variety of infrastructure are crucial. The Digital Research Alliance of Canada has demonstrated that by centralizing support for nodes of digital research infrastructure, housed at institutes across Canada, Canadian researchers and companies gain access to world-class compute power without having to make significant investments in building and maintaining their own infrastructure. Thus, the impact of a one-time investment in infrastructure can be multiplied many times over if this infrastructure is maintained, accessible, and has a clear strategy for national implementation.

Building on this example, we argue that Canada should establish a national network of biofoundries that act as distributed regional innovation hubs for biomanufacturing, with shared infrastructure, centralized coordination, and mission-focused funding. These would be multi-stakeholder facilities, co-funded by the federal and provincial governments, bringing together key players from academia, industry, startups, and defence agencies. This vision aligns with a recent proposal to create the Open Bio Research Alliance, a network of laboratories producing and sharing validated reagents for engineering biology, particularly DNA parts and microbial strains. Like the successful 1000 Molecules program, mission-focused funding would target key sectors including health, agriculture, environment, materials, clean energy, and defence, with renewal tied to achieving specific goals. It would enable engineered biological systems to be scaled up more efficiently, which necessitates knowledge and infrastructure sharing to be effective given the range of physical scales and disciplines involved. With dedicated and centralized support, Canada can play a leading role in biotechnological innovation, creating career opportunities that extend well beyond short-term research grants and build truly national biomanufacturing capacity and the industries it supports.

Relevance to Canada and Strategic Advantages

In a geopolitical climate marked by supply chain fragility and trade disputes, Canada’s reliance on critical materials produced in other countries can be regarded as a growing national security risk. Investment in domestic solutions to address these issues is therefore a strategic and forward-looking response from the defence perspective. A robust biofoundry network would enable the on-demand, decentralized production of essential molecules, such as drugs, chemicals, materials, and alternative foods during crises using regional nodes. It would also allow for the rapid deployment of field-ready innovations, such as self-healing materials, wound-sealing gels, biosensor kits, or decontamination agents that respond to emerging threats. Importantly, national sovereignty over critical materials and data would be maintained, reducing Canada’s dependence on foreign platforms impacted by supply chain disruption, trade tariffs, or interference from foreign governments. These short-term advantages come with longer-term benefits, including the dual-use capabilities of the biofoundry infrastructure and the economic spillover of defence-related technologies into civilian applications, as seen many times before with materials such as Teflon, duct tape, communication innovations such as microwaves, GPS and the Internet, and (most relevant here) a myriad of biological innovations spanning speciality chemicals to novel vaccines. 

Conclusions and Recommendations

As Canada ramps up defence spending to meet NATO’s 5% GDP target, defence procurement must be integrated with a robust science and innovation strategy to ensure this investment benefits Canadians in both peace and wartime. We propose that a biofoundry network is the most efficient way to coordinate, scale, and use biotechnology as a driver of economic and national security. Scattered pieces of this network exist, which can be far more impactful with coordinated and mission-focused support with specific goals to strengthen defense and supply chain security. We recommend that policymakers, funding bodies, and public and private research leaders establish a nationally distributed biofoundry network to secure domestic engineering biology and biomanufacturing capacity. International precedents and domestic priorities are guiding Canada’s engineering biology community in the same direction, which will enable Canada to maintain data and resource sovereignty while building a strong, resilient and innovative bioeconomy. The Canadian Science Policy Centre has called for bold thinking on the use of defence investments to underpin long-term innovation ecosystems, which a national biofoundry network will achieve.