Advanced Biotech for Sustainability (AB4S), a cross-sector coalition committed to unlocking the full environmental potential of advanced biotechnology, published its second annual report, “The Molecule Manifesto: Four Priority Molecule Families to Unlock Industrial Biotech Scale.”
Following last year’s quantification of a $1.1tn market opportunity, the new roadmap identifies the specific molecular “winners” ready for immediate commercial scale-up to meet global climate and supply chain goals.
While AB4S’ inaugural report established the economic case for biotechnology, the 2026 report shifts from theory to execution. After evaluating over 300 molecules across 40 chemical families, the coalition has identified four priority families, terpenes, peptides, non-catalytic proteins, and hydroxy acids, as the most viable near-term opportunities for biobased production.
There are several key insights from the report.
It states that terpenes and terpenoids represent a $7bn to $12bn market and the fastest path to commercial deployment. The fragrance and flavour industry already accepts bio-sourced terpenes at premium prices.
Bioactive peptides applications span from cosmetics and personal care to agriculture and food and represent a potential $2.2bn to $3.4bn market by 2030. The value proposition for these molecules is multifunctionality. Regulations are driving the need for innovation in novel bioactive peptides discovery for various applications and biotechnology offers cutting edge solutions for their production.
Functional proteins deliver performance through physical and biological function: foaming, gelling, emulsification, sweetness, bioactivity, that commodity nutrition proteins, like casein, cannot replicate. Precision fermentation offers the possibility to produce these proteins with high titres without animal agriculture, eliminating supply chain volatility, enabling novel functionality, positioning them as a major long-term market opportunity of $21bn to $31bn as adoption scales.
Hydroxy acids offer a different value proposition: integration into existing chemical infrastructure. These molecules can be produced via fermentation and then converted to high-volume derivatives using established chemical processing, leveraging existing facilities rather than requiring purpose-built biomanufacturing facilities. Excluding commodity citric/lactic acid, hydroxy acids present a potential $1.8bn to $2bn market opportunity.
To translate the report’s prioritization into commercial reality, AB4S calls for greater collaboration and investment in terpenes, peptides, non-catalytic proteins, and hydroxy acids—alongside targeted infrastructure investment and cross-sector collaboration to move these four molecule families from pilot to full industrial scale.
“AI is already delivering impressive results for top innovators around the world, bringing new molecules to market faster and at lower cost than ever before,” said Stef van Grieken, CEO of AB4S member Cradle, an AI-powered protein design platform.
“Sustainable materials represent a significant growth opportunity, and the nexus is right here in Europe. With strong support for sustainable materials and biotech across the region, plus a world-class labour pool, leaders who embrace these insights can power new industries that will unlock impressive benefits across society.”