Unlocking the societal potential of engineered living materials

Abstract

Engineered living materials (ELMs) are an emerging class of materials with the potential for transformative impacts in sustainability across sectors (e.g., water, energy, health). Progress toward producing ELMs with tailorable and/or stimuli-responsive functionalities has occurred in recent years, along with advances in materials manufacturing with increased complexity and scale. While a few ELMs have been commercialized, important barriers must be surmounted before their broader integration into society. These social, ethical, legal, and regulatory barriers, as well as barriers to collaboration between stakeholders, were identified in a workshop combining academic, industry, and government agency participants that was convened as part of the annual Montana Biofilm Meeting (Bozeman, MT) in July 2023. The ELM research community finds itself at a defining moment. Urgent action is needed to realize the societal benefits of ELMs while decreasing the likelihood of negative perception, and actual consequences, of their commercialization.