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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/S01778X/1
Title: Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub
Principal Investigator: Scrutton, Professor NS
Other Investigators:
Barran, Professor PE LeFeuvre, Dr R Archer, Dr IVJ
Shapira, Professor P Winterburn, Dr J Takano, Professor E
Delneri, Professor D Turner, Professor NJ Lye, Professor G
Theodoropoulos, Professor C Green, Professor AP Conradie, Professor AV
Malone, Dr KJ Szita, Professor N Freemont, Professor PS
Kitney, Professor R
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Professor G Chen
Project Partners:
Allergan (International) Almac Group Ltd BAE Systems
BDS Fuels Biocatalysts Ltd BP
BPE Design and Support Ltd Britest Limited C3 Biotechnologies Ltd.
Calysta Energy Inc Cambridge Consultants Ltd CAMS-UK
CoEBio3 Cogent SSC Ltd Croda (Group)
Defence Science & Tech Lab DSTL Dupont Teijin Films (UK) Limited Fingal Wind Ltd
GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) Ingenza Ltd Johnson Matthey
LabGenius Ltd Prozomix Limited Quorn Foods
Quotient Sciences Limited Shell Singer Instruments
Sphere Fluidics Limited Syngenta The Consortium of Bio-Propane Producers
Unilever Victrex plc
Department: Chemistry
Organisation: University of Manchester, The
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 April 2019 Ends: 31 March 2026 Value (£): 10,668,316
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Biochemical engineering Bioprocess Engineering
Catalysis & Applied Catalysis Manufacturing Machine & Plant
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing Chemicals
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
12 Nov 2018 Manufacturing Hubs 2018 - Interviews Announced
29 Oct 2018 Manufacturing Hubs 2018 - Sift Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Industrial Biotechnology (IB) is entering a golden age of opportunity. Technological and scientific advances in biotechnology have revolutionised our ability to synthesise molecules of choice, giving access to novel chemistries that enable tuneable selectivity and the use of benign reaction conditions. These developments can now be coupled to advances in the industrialisation of biology to generate innovative manufacturing routes, supported by high throughput and real-time analytics, process automation, artificial intelligence and data-driven science.

The current excess energy demands of manufacturing and its use of expensive and resource intensive materials can no longer be tolerated. Impacts on climate change (carbon emissions), societal health (toxic waste streams, pollution) and the environment (depletion of precious resources, waste accumulation) are well documented and unsustainable. What is clear is that a petrochemical-dependent economy cannot support the rate at which we consume goods and the demand we place on cheap and easily accessible materials. The emergent bioeconomy, which fosters resource efficiency and reduced reliance on fossil resources, promises to free society from many of the shortcomings of current manufacturing practices. By harnessing the power of biology through innovative IB, the FBRH will support the development of safer, cleaner and greener manufacturing supply chains. This is at the core of the UKs Clean Growth strategy.

The EPSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH) will deliver biomanufacturing processes to support the rapid emergence of the bioeconomy and to place the UK at the forefront of global economic Clean Growth in key manufacturing sectors - pharmaceuticals; value-added chemicals; engineering materials. The FBRH will be a biomanufacturing accelerator, coordinating UK academic, HVM catapult, and industrial capabilities to enable the complete biomanufacturing innovation pipeline to deliver economic, robust and scalable bioprocesses to meet societal and commercial demand.

The FBRH has developed a clear strategy to achieve this vision. This strategy addresses the need to change the economic reality of biomanufacturing by addressing the entire manufacturing lifecycle, by considering aspects such as scale-up, process intensification, continuous manufacturing, integrated and whole-process modelling. The FBRH will address the urgent need to quickly deliver new biocatalysts, robust industrial hosts and novel production technologies that will enable rapid transition from proof-of-concept to manufacturing at scale. The emphasis is on predictable deployment of sustainable and innovative biomanufacturing technologies through integrated technology development at all scales of production, harnessing UK-wide world-leading research expertise and frontier science and technology, including data-driven AI approaches, automation and new technologies emerging from the 'engineering of biology'.

The FBRH will have its Hub at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology at The University of Manchester, with Spokes at the Innovation and Knowledge Centre for Synthetic Biology (Imperial College London), Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering (University College London), the Bioprocess, Environmental and Chemical Technologies Group (Nottingham University), the UK Catalysis Hub (Harwell), the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (Glasgow) and the Centre for Process Innovation (Wilton). This collaborative approach of linking the UK's leading IB centres that hold complementary expertise together with industry will establish an internationally unique asset for UK manufacturing.

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Organisation Website: http://www.man.ac.uk