Plastics are an essential part of life as we know it. However, their sourcing from fossil-based raw materials and end-of-life issues have contributed to the scrutiny and desire for change at governmental, industrial and societal levels. Biome's novel packaging impacts both issues - sourced from renewable bio-based origins and compostable. An estimated 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic waste have been generated globally since the 1950s (Statista,2022) of which over 50% remains in landfill or loose in the environment. Global greenhouse gas emissions from the production, recycling and disposal of plastics is more than double that of air travel (Nature-Climate-Change,2019). In line with current demand, fossil-based plastics are produced at a rate of ~330mtpa. While useful and ubiquitous, they have been developed focusing on function over end-of-life performance and their environmental impact. Recycling alone is not the complete answer to the "plastics problem". This includes cost, food contamination, degradation and environmental leakage to soils and oceans. Bio-based and biodegradable plastics are an important part of the solution providing low-carbon routes to such materials and biodegradation in appropriate environments. This collaborative project between Biome Technologies plc, Thomas Swan & Co and Nottingham University's Chemical Engineering Department will accelerate the manufacturing process and product optimisation, scaling-up of four novel bioplastics from Biome's current research in partnership with existing commercial customers. The project's outcome will facilitate the commercial deployment of a new range of sustainable and biodegradable materials, reducing landfill and the environmental burden of non-biodegradable plastics in composts and soils whilst increasing productivity and growth for the wider UK (bio)economy.

The environmental and social concerns surrounding the use of fossil fuels and food crops make lignin a compelling target as a source of chemicals. Often considered a waste product, it may provide a sustainable source of building blocks for aromatic chemicals; in particular, aromatic diacids that can be used for polyesters or polyamides in bioplastics. The project will evaluate the feasibility of production and commercialisation of one of these, a substituted phthalic acid from lignin using pathway engineering and through scale-up of a novel fermentation processes. Working on the project are teams including Professors Bugg and Lapkin from the University of Warwick’s Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Departments and engineers and technologists from Biome Technologies.

The environmental and social concerns surrounding the use of fossil fuels and food crops make lignin a compelling target as a source of chemicals. Considered of low commercial value, lignin is one of the few potential natural sources of aromatic chemicals. This project targets the useful aromatic building blocks for platform chemicals within lignin that can be substituted in plastics' intermediates. This project builds on a Technical Feasibility project undertaken by Biome Bioplastics and the University of Warwick, and seeks to demonstrate that metabolites extracted previously at laboratory scale can be produced in a commercially viable manner through the selective disintegration of lignin using bacteria and/or enzymes in fed batch/continuous reactors of scale. Larger trials will be undertaken at CPI and the resultant demonstration quantities of chemicals will be converted into novel materials, for evaluation in a high value market.

The GENIALG project aims to boost the Blue Biotechnology Economy (BBE) by increasing the production and sustainable exploitation of two high-yielding species of the EU seaweed biomass: the brown alga Saccharina latissima and the green algae Ulva spp. GENIALG will demonstrate the economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of cultivating and refining seaweed biomass in multiple use demanded products of marine renewable origin. The consortium integrates available knowledge in algal biotechnology and ready to use reliable eco-friendly tools and methods for selecting and producing high yielding strains in economically feasible quantities and qualities. By cracking the biomass and supplying a wide diversity of chemical compounds for existing as well as new applications and markets, GENIALG will anticipate the economic, social and environmental impacts of such developments in term of economic benefit and job opportunities liable to increase the socio-economic value of the blue biotechnology sector. In a larger frame, conservation and biosafety issues will be addressed as well as more social aspects such as acceptability and competition for space and water regarding other maritime activities. To achieve these objectives GENIALG will foster a trans-sectorial and complementary consortium of scientists and private companies. • GENIALG will involve a diversity of private companies already positioned in the seaweed sector individually for different applications (texturants, feed, agriculture, bioplastics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products…) in order to strengthen interactions for developing a bio-refinery concept and accelerate efficient and sustainable exploitation of seaweed biomass to bring new high-value products on the market.

An estimated 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste have been generated globally since the 1950s (Science, 2017) of which approximately 80% remains in landfill or loose in the broader environment. In line with current demand, oil-based plastics are produced at a rate of ~350mtpa. While undoubtedly useful, they have been developed with a focus on function rather than end-of-life performance and their impact on our environment. A disruptive solution to the single use plastic problem could be the design of biobased, biodegradable and high-performance polymers which have the potential to replace oil based packaging materials. This collaborative, 9 month proof of concept study between Biome Technologies plc, the University of Glasgow's Institute of Molecular Cell & Systems Biology and the University of Nottingham's Chemical Engineering Department will explore a novel, blue-green algae derived biopolymer in line with the UK Plastics Pact targets.