Transitioning to a circular bioeconomy: Key drivers and the new cluster technologies to accelerate process development in biotechnology sectors

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INTRODUCTION
This paper presents some of the arguments from a presentation given at the recent CPAC Rome Workshop 2023 (30) at the University of Washington Rome Center. The presentation “To Facilitate a Rapid Transition to a Circular bioeconomy will Require the Development of New Tools to Speed Process Development” focused on some of the key drivers for a circular bioeconomy, which included a description of the new technologies that will be required to enable a smooth and rapid transition. The presentation started with a review of the problems that led to the development of the circular economy concept that was an overarching topic at this year’s workshop titled, “Utilization of New Processing Concepts to Support the Demand for Sustainable Materials in a Circular Economy, often enabled by Exploring New Reaction Routes for Continuous Flow Processing Aided by Real-Time Monitoring Technology” (1). Designed to be “restorative and generative” the circular economy approach speaks to an economic system where the resources in the economy are maintained for as long as possible and the generation of waste is minimized (2) – an approach that demands a great deal of innovations and technologies to address the resource management needs of today.