White Biotech TP is funded by FP6
United Kingdom
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Introduction
The UK is as a significant player in industrial biotechnology. Building on its life sciences strengths and productive healthcare biotechnology industry, the UK has established good conditions for industrial biotechnology to reinforce the biotech sector. The UK Government has recognised the tremendous potential of industrial biotechnology as both a means of making UK manufacturing industries more competitive and as a way of reducing emissions and environmental pollution. Today, progressive governmental support, innovative institutes and companies and powerful collaborations are supporting the discovery and development of new industrial biotech processes and bio-based products.
I. Research and Innovation
Modern industrial biotechnology is a relatively new discipline, with major areas of knowledge still to be explored. Public support to research as well as the establishment of pilot and demonstration facilities to scale-up individual processes will therefore help in the development of a European bio-based economy.
A. Public research funding
The UK Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is member as a partner of the European Research Area – Industrial Biotechnology (ERA-net IB).
The BERR Technology Programme’s – Technology Strategy Board published 2 calls to date on bio-based products and processes.
Defra, in conjunction with the BBSRC, has a programme devoted to renewable materials that will provide grant-aid to private sector-led collaborative research into non-food crops.
The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme is offered via Defra and provides funds to support business in improving its resource efficiency, including waste minimisation and diversion from landfill. The funding is distributed over three years with £43 million for 2005/06, £95 million for 2006/07 and £146 million for 2007/08.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), sponsored through the UK Government’s Office of Science and Innovation, is the leading funding agency for academic research and training in the biosciences. The BBSRC invests £336 million a year in scientists working in universities and in eight research institutes as well as in the promotion of knowledge transfer, industrial collaboration, business start-ups and IP protection.
IBTI - integrated biorefining technologies initiative is a product development partnership led by
Bioscience for Business KTN and consisting of leading industries, government departments and research councils. The research club is being led by the UK’s main public funder of bioscience research – the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). BBSRC will be working with the Bioscience for Business Knowledge Transfer Network and the founder company members of the IBTI Club: Biocaldol, BP Biofuels UK, British Sugar, Croda, Danisco A/S Genencor, Green Biologics, AHDB-HGCA, KWS UK, Syngenta and TMO Renewables.
IBTI activities will be:
- Activity 1: A strategic research programme (BBSRC Industry Research Club) - An industry-guided research programme with bi-annual dissemination meetings to ensure members are informed of research outputs. This forum will provide opportunities for early engagement with UK academics to establish close working relationships for future collaborative ventures.
- Activity 2: Demonstration Projects - Industry and government departments will fund demonstration projects as proof-of-concept. Projects will vary in size and extent of private/public investment according to the specific needs of individual companies/consortia.
- Activity 3: A facilitated network - The IBTI Industrial Strategy Board is an influential group of experts with knowledge across the entire biorefining supply chain. Importantly, this includes both the energy and non-energy sectors to ensure commercial potential is maximised through the integrated production of bioenergy, biochemical and biomaterial products.
The Technology Programme of the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform covers seven key technology areas in Bio and Healthcare, ICT, Photonics and Electronics, Materials, Emerging Energy, Sustainable Consumption and Production, Design Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing. It is mainly supporting private companies in their development process.
SusChem United Kingdom is the national platform that links the UK with the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry. It is an alliance of six partner organisations with an interest in sustainable chemistry, working together to support industry and academia in providing the chemistry-based solutions that will contribute to a sustained quality of life.
Launched in June 2008, SusChem United Kingdom focuses on areas where innovation in chemistry, engineering and related sciences can bring about major advances in sustainability through the design, manufacture, formulation, packaging and distribution of products and through new and improved processes.
B. Pilot and demonstration plants
A descriptive list of pilot and demonstration plants in the United Kingdom is available
here.
II. Policy
Public authorities can promote the quick take-up of industrial biotechnology innovations by implementing a number of “instruments” or policy initiatives. This can be the improvement of the regulatory framework; the integration of specification for bio-based products in public procurement; the establishment of standardisation, labelling and certification schemes to overcome perceived uncertainty about product properties and weak market transparency; the development of financial instruments and supports to increase investments into research, technology development and innovation as well as the elaboration of communication and information campaign to communicate the benefits of bio-based products to users.
A. Policies and regulations
No policies are in place at present although some discussions have taken place as mentioned in the White Paper “Innovation Nation” ( March 2008) and in the UK Life Science marketing strategy launched in November 2007.
In 2004, DEFRA and DTI (now BERR) published a “A strategy for non-food crops and uses - creating value from renewable materials”. The Strategy action plan covers areas such as tackling climate change, funding more scientific research and increasing the use of sustainable products.
In November 2006 the Strategy Project Board published its report on the delivery of the first two years of the Strategy and in May 2007, the
Government responded to this two years evaluation by refocusing the action plan for developing the strategy up to the end of 2009. The Government noted that Bioenergy has seen most progress over the last two years. He noted that to achieve a low carbon economy, the development of biorefineries to provide a sustainable manufacturing base for energy, fuels, biomaterials and chemicals is central.
The DTI (now BERR) established in October 2004 the Biomass Task Force with the challenge ‘to assist Government and the biomass industry in optimising the contribution of biomass energy to renewable energy targets and to sustainable farming and forestry and rural economy objectives’.
The Task Force concluded that biomass – in its diverse forms – has potential for contributing strongly to our renewable energy and climate change objectives, and that much of this potential is currently unrealised. Biomass cannot solve all of the issues facing us, for energy or for farming. But its contribution can be very significant and in this response we set out our plans for moving forward towards optimum use of this resource.
In 2006, the Government responded to the task force. The response provided further detail on how the United Kingdom intends biomass to contribute to renewable development. The Government asked the Task Force to concentrate on the use of biomass for heat and electricity generation, while taking account of biofuels for transport and other non food uses of crops in so far as cross-cutting issues arose.
BERR has facilitated an Innovation and Growth Team on Industrial Biotechnology (IB-IGT) that is industry led project formed to produce a collective view from the UK chemical and bioscience industries on the challenges of Industrial biotechnology. This was formed in 2007 and will report Q2 09 with advice on finance, procurement, labeling, LCA and policy issues relating to industrial biotechnology. This report will advise government policy in the UK.
B. Public procurement
There are no specific guidelines on bio-based products in public procurement. Ad hoc – some examples of renewable products have been incorporated into public procurement contracts.
C. Standardisation, labelling and certification
Supports the EU wide ecolabel rather than National scheme.
D. Access to finance
Links to some sources of information about support and funding for Bioscience companies is available here.
Finance and Investment will be a workstream for BERR’s recently launched Industrial Biotechnology Innovation and Growth Team (IB-IGT) due to report in quarter 2 2009.
Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTN) promote collaboration between research, industry and technology organisations to broaden and accelerate industry driven knowledge transfer from scientific expertise into the end-user markets through a range of activities facilitating the entire chain.
The Bioscience for Business KTN is the UK’s knowledge transfer network (KTN) in making sustainable use of renewable bio-resources. The Bioscience for Business KTN operates across white, green and blue biotechnology and is designed to meet the challenge of integrating rapid developments in the biosciences with the necessary equipment and process advances, including biocatalytical manufacturing processes to achieve industrial excellence.E. Communication
NNFCC are developing a communications strategy for non-food crops to provide information to the consumer to influence behaviour and support beneficial choices and to industry on new commercial opportunities.
Bioscience to Business KTN is promoting a number of events and “webinars” to raise awareness and to bring together researchers and commercial bodies. The Chemistry Innovation KTN is also working to promote IB in collaboration with BfB.
Main Sources
| UK KBBE-net delegate |
| BioIndustry Association |
| Bioscience for Business KTN |