Joint UK-Norwegian Support for Industrial Biotechnology Sector

The British and Norwegian governments are to work together to support nine new research and development projects that will create innovative processes to generate high-value chemicals through industrial biotechnology

and bio-refining.

The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has offered grant funding totalling £1.82cmillion to the nine UK-led projects and four of these will also be supported by Innovation Norway, which is providing additional funding of £400,000 to the

Norwegian businesses that are taking part.

David Bott, Director of Innovation Programmes at the Technology Strategy Board, said:

"Industrial biotechnology can help the chemical industry move away from a dependency on oil to a future based on renewable and biological substances.Through these projects we are helping innovative British businesses to develop early-stage biotechnology projects into pilots and to turn pilots into commercially viable processes.

"The enthusiasm shown by UK organisations to work internationally and, in this case, partner with Norwegian companies, demonstrates that international collaboration can bring exciting project opportunities for UK business."

The four full-scale collaborative R&D projects will be led by Chirotech Technology Ltd (2 projects), Ingenza Ltd and Unilever. The five feasibility projects will be led by Aquapharm Biodiscovery Ltd, Biocatalysts Ltd, Centre for Process Innovation Ltd, C-Tech Innovation Ltd and GlycoMar Ltd.

Innovation Norway’s involvement follows the signing in 2011 of an agreement between the UK and Norway that encourages UK-Norwegian projects incorporating industrial biotechnology and/or bio-refining.

This new funding brings the total investment by the Technology Strategy Board since September 2009 in R&D using industrial biotechnology to make new or existing chemicals to £7 million, in 42 projects. These projects may use

demonstration facilities in the UK, such as the newly-opened High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre.