Metabolic engineering is a young field, just about 20 years old. During this period, it has developed new concepts, a well-defined methodology and a focused research portfolio of rich intellectual content and particular relevance to biotechnology and biological engineering. Its goal is to harness the immense potential of microorganisms for the production of useful products, in particular from renewable resources. This it does by engineering the cellular metabolism such as to favor product-forming pathways while maintaining normal cellular functions. Having been founded on modern genetic methods and concepts of chemical reaction engineering, Metabolic Engineering is rapidly becoming the enabling technology for the production of fuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, thus laying the foundations of a new biobased economy. Talks and panel discussion in this session will review past accomplishments and future challenges of metabolic engineering.

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