Today the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the first award for the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP) to expand the domestic supply of ingredients and materials for US-national supply chains and bolster the bioindustrial manufacturing base, as outlined in President Biden’s Executive Order 14081, "Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy."
Debut, a San Diego-based company, will receive $2 million to produce business and technical plans that detail construction of a domestic bioindustrial manufacturing production facility through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), a contract vehicle awarded and overseen by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. If successful, projects that were selected under the competitive announcement can receive follow-on awards that would provide access of up to $100 million to build a US-based bioindustrial manufacturing facility. This facility is expected to onshore foreign production of precursors critical to manufacturing ingredients, materials, resins, polyesters, and thermosetting resins.
"This first award is a major step toward realizing the vision of Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks when she directed establishment of DBIMP in Fiscal Year 2023. By making these investments in domestic bioproduction infrastructure, we are making a significant move toward fortifying the American industrial base," said Dr. Aprille Ericsson, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, which falls under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). "The DoD is committed to leveraging biotechnology to secure our competitive advantage and keep pace with the demand for next-generation capabilities for our warfighters and allies."
"This award marks an important step — the first of many — for the DIBC OTA, and shows the progress we are making toward building more resilient supply chains, growing our manufacturing workforce, and using more flexible acquisition authorities," said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. "This partnership with OUSD(R&E) is a prime example of how achieving the National Defense Industrial Strategy’s strategic priorities requires collaboration across all of the Department."
Following a competitive evaluation of proposed solutions, the DoD entered negotiations with more than 30 selectees for business and technical planning efforts across focus areas for defense materials: fabrication, fitness, food, and fuel. Upon completion of planning efforts, businesses are eligible to enter negotiations to proceed to the next phase of the DBIMP under the DIBC, wherein the DoD will support building bioproduction infrastructure that increases the domestic supply of critical materials.
The remaining awards are expected to be announced throughout the coming months.