The facility will build on the capabilities of the Centre for Process Innovation, which also houses the National Industrial Biotechnology Facility, on Tesside in north east England.
This funding is part of the government’s response to the independent industry report “IB 2025: Maximising UK Opportunities from Industrial Biotechnology in a Low Carbon Economy” published in May.
The National Industrial Biotechnology Facility provides testing facilities for new industrial biotechnology products and processes, but the report said larger scale facilities were needed. The new demonstrator will be tailored to the development and testing of the production of alcohols, biodiesel, low-volume speciality and higher value chemicals from renewable biomass feedstocks and through biocatalysis. It is expected to be fully operational by late 2010.
For more information, read the report: IB 2025: Maximising UK Opportunities from Industrial Biotechnology in a Low Carbon Economy.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
