IBioIC BioProcess Scale-up Accelerator Competition
Call Opens: July 1, 2026
Call Closes: Sept 1, 2026
Background
The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) has been awarded Scottish Government funding to address bottlenecks in the pathway to scale for industrial biotechnology (IB) upstream and downstream bioprocesses that can generate economic benefit for Scotland.
We are inviting bioprocess developers to apply for £10,000 business vouchers (“Business Vouchers”) to support industry or academic led projects to scale through access to the IBioIC Bioprocess Scale Up Centre (FlexBIO).
FlexBIO, hosted within the John Coulson Building at Heriot-Watt University, bridges the gap between early-stage laboratory research and industrial-scale bioproduction. It offers biotech companies, startups and research organisations access to pilot-scale bioreactor infrastructure, expert technical support, and end-to-end process development services. The centre is agnostic of host cell organism and can scale processes from 2L to 300L, offering a range of downstream processing options.
For a comprehensive list of services, please see https://www.ibioic.com/flexbio-equipment-portfolio-and-capabilities
Criteria for IBioIC Process Scale-up Accelerator Projects
For a project to be considered for a Business Voucher it must meet the following minimum criteria:
it should championed and led by either an industrial or academic organisation, and must have a credible plan for securing follow-on funding to take a successful product or service to market;
the industrial and/or academic organisations must be willing and able to at least match fund, in cash, the remaining cost of the scale up project above the Business Voucher value;
it must be at a stage where the proposed bioprocess development work can be completed by end of March 2027 (this timeline is defined by the Scottish Government award)’
it will help support the bio-based manufacturing cluster in Scotland either through business growth, investment, collaborative R&D, access to supply chains or feedstock.
Subsidy Control
Applicants should note that as this funding call is supported by funding provided by the Scottish Government that the Business Vouchers are considered to be Minimum Final Assistance (MFA) under the Subsidy Control Act 2022:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/subsidy-control-guidance/pages/special-drawing-rights/.
How to Apply
The competition call is open from 1 July 2026 and a deadline of 1 September 2026.
First submit an expression of interest (EOI) form Expression of Interest form which requests some basic non-confidential information about the scope and process that you wish to scale.
EOIs will be reviewed within two (2) weeks of submission, and if deemed a suitable fit for the competition, the FlexBIO team will arrange a call to further explore the project requirements. If FlexBIO can deliver the requested work, applicants will be sent a more detailed onboarding form to complete.
This onboarding form will then be reviewed, in confidence, by a panel comprised of FlexBIO Facility Director, IBioIC CEO and a member of the IBioIC Governing Board (the “IBioIC Project Selection Panel”). Projects will be judged on technical and commercial merit and successful applicants will be notified as soon as feasible thereafter.
FlexBIO will then provide a fully costed workplan (at FlexBIO’s standard rates) for the applicant and draft contract for review. No work can start until the contract has been signed. The applicant is under no obligation to go ahead with the work if their circumstances change, but we expect applicants to notify us of this decision within two (2) weeks of delivery of the costed workplan.
The decision of the IBioIC Project Selection Panel to award funding shall be final without calls for dispute. Projects will be funded on a first come, first served basis, because of the timelines for funding spend and the need to schedule projects. The processes followed and decisions taken by the IBioIC Project Selection Panel shall be minuted and made available to applicants on request.
The applicant/awardee retains foreground IP as per standard FlexBIO contract terms with a standard non-disclosure agreement available before detailed disclosure.
Feedback will be given to unsuccessful applicants in the hope that they can revise their application and re-submit to future rounds of this call.