Biotechnology develops and applies principles and tools for engineering living systems. The biotech sector, forecast to be worth >$415 Bn by 2017, is providing a torrent of new genomic sequence and gene expression data, alongside a plethora of precision medicine and novel bio-pharma drug discovery opportunities including theranostics, innovative stem cell applications and treatments for epidemics. As gene editing methodologies with tools such as CRISPR and TALENS and our understanding of gene drives increases, their use for example in potential control of pathogen intermediate vectors receives scrutiny and the need for gene drive ‘brakes’ is apparent. Issues surrounding the use of genetically modified animal and plants pose societal, as much as technological questions. Additive manufacturing, synthetic biology and enhanced imaging systems such as cryo-electron microscopy, provide further creative challenges for biotechnology. Each of these areas will contribute to biotechnology playing an increasing role in the development of circular bio-economy and sustainable development solutions for the foreseeable future.