Funding opportunity
The UK Technology Strategy Board is managing a £2.5 million programme to stimulate innovation in industrial biotechnology sector, and wants small and medium-sized companies to apply for funding.
The aim is to encourage the development and commercialisation of innovative processes that will generate high-value chemicals through industrial biotechnology. The programme will fund feasibility studies mainly for short-term projects, usually lasting up to six months, which are likely to cost up to£200,000. Funding up to 75 per cent may be made available for such studies, Applications can be made by single companies or consortia.
It is hoped to stimulate collaboration between industrial biotechnology developers, higher education institutions and the chemical sector. The chemical and chemistry-using sectors are encouraged to pilot industrial biotechnological routes for existing processes.
Proposals should demonstrate significant benefit in terms of sustainability over existing petroleum-based approaches in areas such as,
novel bio-chemicals
chemicals for use in health and personal care products
biodegradable lubricants
cleaner, more efficient manufacturing of chemicals, including fine chemicals, materials, and active pharmaceutical ingredients
the discovery and sustainable use of natural products as biologically active ingredients.
Most of the projects supported under this programme will be feasibility projects lasting up to six months and operating at or below 1,000 litre batch processing capacity. The projects must be able to commence by April 2010, and may be run at any of the small-scale industrial biotechnology pilot plant facilities around the UK.
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