Scotland’s biotechnology sector is celebrating the launch of the nation’s first open-access 300-litre fermenter, which has been put in due to an £847,000 grant from the nationwide financial improvement company, Scottish Enterprise.
The fermenter, which is a sort of bioreactor used to domesticate microorganisms, is situated on the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre’s (IBioIC) FlexBIO scale-up facility at Heriot-Watt College in Edinburgh. It expands IBioIC’s scale-up capabilities considerably, rising upstream bioprocessing capability tenfold from 30 to 300 litres.
“The brand new fermenter will present a big enhance for Scotland’s bioeconomy”
The brand new fermenter facility goals to speed up the expansion of commercial biotechnology in Scotland, whereas addressing funding challenges and entry points confronted by aspiring bio-based manufacturing corporations. It may be used for the bioprocessing of energetic substances like yeast, micro organism, and algae, enabling the event of finish merchandise similar to cultivated meat, different proteins, pure dyes and fibres for sustainable textiles, and bio-based substances for medicines and cosmetics.
“The brand new fermenter will present a big enhance for Scotland’s bioeconomy, providing the very important scale-up infrastructure that many corporations must take the following step,” mentioned Mark Bustard, CEO of IBioIC. “It allows a smoother transition from lab analysis to industrial manufacturing, giving companies better confidence and credibility as they search funding to scale. Past that, it additionally reinforces Scotland’s fame as a hub for sustainable innovation and a number one vacation spot for producing bio-based merchandise and supplies.”
Supporting Scotland’s bio-based producers
Excessive infrastructure prices and an absence of in-house experience could make it difficult for bio-based corporations to translate lab-based science into industry-ready processes. FlexBIO hopes to deal with each of those points, offering entry to gear and technical data underneath one roof.
The brand new fermenter was lately celebrated with a launch occasion, which occurred throughout FlexBIO and the Nationwide Robotarium. Key {industry} stakeholders attended for a morning of networking and displays, together with the chance to view the fermenter and learn the way it will likely be used to help younger corporations.
The Scottish authorities has made addressing challenges in industrial biotechnology a strategic funding focus, as it really works to realize internet zero by 2045.
“Offering entry to cutting-edge gear, like this fermenter, is a crucial step in supporting Scotland’s bio-based producers to achieve their full potential,” mentioned Adrian Gillespie, CEO at Scottish Enterprise. “Utilizing these services will assist formidable spinouts, start-ups, and smaller corporations to scale up, accelerating their journey from the lab to full-scale manufacturing. At Scottish Enterprise, we’re targeted on serving to extra corporations to scale, creating extra high-quality jobs and financial progress for Scotland.”
