We propose that the next generation of catalysis will be bio-inspired integrated catalytic systems with lifelike properties, and we outline a five-step process for getting there: designing biocatalysts, combining them into complex catalytic networks, coupling these networks to energy modules, compartmentalising them, and finally endowing them with Darwinian properties. Synthetic chemical processes frequently do not function under benign or sustainable conditions, in contrast to natural complex reaction networks. The future of industrial catalysis is depicted as being biologically based in this perspective, which offers a road map for bio-inspired integrated catalytic systems for chemical production.