In this work, abundant and environmentally friendly nano-fibrillated (NFC) cellulose is used for fabrication of porous separator membranes according to the procedure adopted from papermaking industry. As-prepared NFC separators were characterized in terms of thickness, porosity, wettability, electrochemical stability and electrochemical performance in lithium-sulfur and Li-symmetrical pouch cells and compared to a commercial Celgard 2320 separator membrane. Results demonstrated that morphology and electrochemical performance of NFC separator outperforms the conventional polyolefin separator. Due to exceptional interplay between lithium metal and cellulose, this research provides a self-standing NFC separator that can be used besides the lithium-sulfur also in other lithium metal battery configurations.

The COVID‐19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented surge in development of mRNA‐based vaccines. Despite the need to increase process productivity and thus decrease the cost of mRNA vaccines, limited scientific literature is available on strategies to increase the yield of in vitro transcription (IVT) reaction, the unit operation with highest cost of goods, which has traditionally been performed as a batch reaction. Single‐use bioreactors are traditionally used for cell‐based production of biopharmaceuticals, but some core functionalities, such as controlled and automated feed addition, are potentially useful for cell‐free mRNA processes. We report the production of 2 g mRNA in an Ambr® 250 Modular bioreactor system with a starting volume of 100 mL, reaching a maximum mRNA concentration of 12 g L−1 by a fed‐batch IVT approach, and demonstrate the feasibility of continuous fed‐batch production, paving the way towards continuous manufacturing of mRNA.

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