URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Last week, the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Hub, or iFAB, made some headlines when U.S, Senator Tammy Duckworth visited, along with a representative from a congressional commission.

Biomanufacturing may be hard to define, but Nicole Bateman, iFAB’s Chief Strategy Officer, said its products will dominate our lifestyle very soon.

“80% of what we touch is going to be made out of biomanufacturing over the next decade. And so we have to start putting in assets and we have to start investing in our biotech economy,” Bateman said. “If we don’t, what we’re going to see is being more reliant on other countries for our supply chains. We learned that during the pandemic; that went terribly for the United States.”

Bateman said it will be everything from plastics to cosmetics and polymers to textiles. She also stressed the importance of setting expectations.

“We do believe over the next decade, we will become the precision fermentation capital of the world. But these things do take time,” she said. “So as hard as we’re working, I think it’s important to set expectations that folks aren’t going to just drive down the street and now all of a sudden see new factories popping up.”

The biotech era could add thousands of jobs in Central Illinois.

“Biotech is such a critical focal point for the United States right now, and there’s no better place to do it than Central Illinois,” Bateman said. “We’re going to leverage our assets to bring in even more companies so that we have more markets, not only for farmers, but more jobs for our community and a great place to grow and raise families.”

iFab opened three years ago and has already outgrown its facility. A new addition is planned for the east side of it along Pennsylvania Avenue.