By producing more from the same feedstocks and reducing the inputs required in industrial processes, biotechnology is emerging as another tool that industries can use to improve energy and resource efficiency, says Novonesis South Africa country manager Nanda Kishore Chanda.

He explains that biosolutions, which include enzymes, microbes, bacterial cultures and yeast, can help industries improve production yields while reducing the resources required to achieve the same output. In the biofuels sector, for example, enzymes and yeast can improve the conversion of feedstocks into ethanol. Chanda says Novonesis’ biosolutions can increase ethanol output by between 3% and 4%, based on results in countries that have adopted the technology over the past three years.“About 1% to 2% of the improvement can come from yeast, with a further 1% to 2% coming from enzymes,” he states.

Agricultural residues, used cooking oil and other organic waste can provide additional feedstocks for biofuel and biogas production.

South Africa generates between 600 t and 800 t of used cooking oil a day, according to Novonesis’ data, generating a potential feedstock for biodiesel production.

“Biosolutions can improve the conversion of these feedstocks into fuels and increase the amount of energy that can be obtained from the same resource,” Chanda says.

Enzymes can also improve the extraction of sugar from sugarcane, while agricultural residues can be used to produce additional ethanol.

Biosolutions can similarly improve biogas production from the same digester, allowing for more energy to be produced from an existing feedstock, he adds.

Chanda says the value of biotechnology in improving efficiency lies in its ability to help industries use less to get more.

However, biotechnology is not a single solution to South Africa’s energy and resource challenges, but can form part of a broader approach to improving industrial efficiency and resilience, he notes.

Novonesis, which was formed in 2024 through the combination of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen, develops biosolutions using microorganisms, enzymes and proteins for applications across more than 30 industries.

Chanda says local application facilities are important because biosolutions need to be tested and adapted to ensure that they work effectively under local conditions. Greater adoption of biosolutions will require collaboration among industry, government and consumers, as well as appropriate policy and greater awareness of the available technologies.

For South African industry, the opportunity is to extract more value from existing resources while reducing the inputs required to produce goods and energy, Chanda concludes.