Biorenewables centre to bridge the gap between the lab and industry

The University of York has today unveiled its multi-million pound Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC).

The unique national facility integrates modern genetics with green chemistry and processing techniques to create renewable chemicals and materials. The BDC will support industry in developing manufacturing technologies that use plants, microbes and biowastes as the raw materials for high value products. 

It is hoped that the BDC will not only help the UK to become a leader in green chemistry, but bridge the gap between the laboratory and industry, providing companies and academia with a way to test, develop and scale up biorefining processes.

“This new centre will strengthen the UK’s position as a leader in the exploitation of high-value chemicals from renewable sources,” said Vince Cable, the UK’s Business Secretary, who attended today’s inauguration ceremony.

“It will also help UK companies to access and capitalise on the global growth potential from these new technologies and products.”

According to researchers at the BDC, the unique feature of the facility will be the fact that it can use molecular breeding to rapidly improve plants and microbes as raw materials for these processes. This creates the potential to source high value chemicals from plants by developing novel crops or improving those already in use.

The expansion of the centre has been supported by a £2.5 million grant from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

“This investment by BIS is a reflection of the facility’s national significance and unique capability,” explains the centre’s director Dr Joe Ross.

“The Biorenewables Development Centre will greatly expand the opportunities for industry to source its raw materials from plants and microbes.”

The BDC has already carried out a series of projects, including helping a small business convert its industrial waste into valuable chemicals, by using strains of the mould Aspergillus, which were developed in the lab.

“Our aim in establishing the BDC is to help make the UK a world leader in the production of high value chemicals from plants and microbes by combining academic excellence from the University of York with industry capability,” says
Professor Ian Graham, Chair of the BDC board.

 

Images 01, 02 & 03: Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC)