Ginkgo Bioworks and Bayer extend partnership to advance microbial fertilizer technologies

Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks has extended its multi-year strategic partnership with Bayer Crop Science to further develop biological products for agriculture. The collaboration, first established in 2017, focuses on microbial nitrogen fixation as an alternative and complement to synthetic fertilizers.

Under the renewed agreement, Bayer retains rights to commercialize resulting biological products, while Ginkgo will continue to apply its synthetic biology platform to agricultural innovation. Bayer remains a major partner in Ginkgo’s expanded agricultural biologicals platform, based at its West Sacramento R&D facility, which supports research in biological crop protection, nitrogen fixation, and carbon sequestration.

“The future will bring increasingly severe challenges for farmers, and we will best meet these challenges together with leading innovators from around the world through the open innovation ecosystem,” said Dr. Mike Graham, Head of R&D at Bayer’s Crop Science Division. He added that biologicals, alongside advanced seeds, digital tools, and chemical crop protection, can broaden growers’ options and support more resilient production systems.

Ginkgo Bioworks said the partnership reflects its goal of advancing biological solutions across crops and geographies through scalable platform technologies. “Ginkgo is committed to the power of advanced biological tools to deliver innovative products for growers at the forefront of food production and food security worldwide,” said Michael Miille, General Manager of Ginkgo’s Agriculture Business Unit.

The move reflects a broader shift in agritech toward biological inputs designed to improve soil health and reduce reliance on conventional fertilizers.