Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes toured Scotland’s first biorefinery as it reached a milestone in its drive to commercialise ground breaking technology. Celtic Renewables has recently released the first tanker load of green chemicals from its Grangemouth plant, marking the beginning of regular shipments.

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) welcomed more than 100 new members to its network in 2024, reflecting the ongoing growth of Scotland’s bioeconomy. 

Concinnity Genetics, an Edinburgh-based gene control company, is thrilled to announce the closure of its oversubscribed £3m seed funding round. The investment was led by Eos Advisory with support from Scottish Enterprise, Old College Capital (OCC) - the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund, and Maven Capital Partners.

University of Edinburgh spinout Carbogenics, a leading innovator in sustainable biochar technology, is thrilled to announce the successful close of its latest funding round, securing just under half a million pounds. This significant milestone reflects the confidence of both existing and new investors in Carbogenics’ mission to revolutionise sustainable solutions and expand its global footprint.

Technology developed by Scottish biotech Biotangents, which has announced its latest investment round, is set to revolutionise the dairy farming industry with the world’s fastest on-farm, point-of-care diagnostic device aimed at addressing disease in dairy cows. 

A team of researchers in Scotland is supporting a clean tech startup to transform low-value co-products from the forestry sector into eco-friendly alternatives to chemicals found in everyday items.

The first tanker of sustainably produced bioacetone and biobutanol has been dispatched from Celtic Renewables’ flagship Biorefinery in Grangemouth, marking a major milestone for the world’s shift to green chemicals. This achievement is backed by over £60million in funding which enabled the construction of Scotland’s first Biorefinery and its commercial-scale operations.

In October, IBioIC had the pleasure to sponsor and participate in the 2nd annual A3 Scotland conference hosted in Inverness, jointly organised by HIE and SRUC. This event brought together around 200 industry leaders, innovators, and experts to discuss key topics shaping our sector. In this post, our IBioIC Senior Business Engagement managers, Annelie & Caroline, reflect on their time at the conference.

The EastBio partnership has been awarded funding by UKRI BBSRC to continue providing world-class doctoral training across the life sciences in Scotland.

OCEANIUM Secures Funding to Address Global Fiber Deficiency This funding will drive the development of Project SeaFibre, focused on advancing OCEAN HEALTH™ NUTRA, a nutrient-rich superfood ingredient derived from sustainably farmed seaweed, in collaboration with the University of Reading

Aberdeen-based biotechnology company NCIMB is collaborating with the pioneering Rowett Institute to develop a tool that will improve understanding of microbes that have important roles in human health and disease, and support development of new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease and cancer. The work has received funding from Innovate UK.

Independent waste management business Coastal Recycling is set to become the first in Devon to turn waste once destined for landfill or incineration into coal-replacing fuel. Using an innovative biotechnology solution from Advetec, Coastal will turn around 5,200 tonnes of the black bag waste it collects each year into Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF).

In a groundbreaking collaboration, EnviroFlight, North America’s leader in sustainable insect-based ingredients, and Entocycle, a tech pioneer in insect farming, are excited to announce the successful implementation of Entocycle’s advanced optical dosing solution, Entosight Neo

MarinaTex, a pioneer in developing marine-derived biomaterials as alternatives to problematic single-use plastics, has announced the appointment of Craig Sterling as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Independent Scottish distillery Eden Mill has announced a partnership with leading Scottish biotech company, and Earthshot Prize finalists, MiAlgae, to repurpose whisky effluent, a by-product of distillation, to grow microalgae as a sustainable source of Omega-3s.

MiAlgae, a leader in sustainable food production and marine ecosystem restoration, has been recognised as a finalist for the prestigious 2024 Earthshot Prize.

Scotland’s premier knowledge exchange awards launch today, celebrating 10 years of exceptional, inspiring and ground-breaking business-academic people and partnerships.

E.V.A Biosystems has secured the top spot in the SSE-sponsored Net Zero category at the Converge Awards thanks to its groundbreaking ‘smart’ plastic that senses its surroundings and degrades on contact with seawater, offering a microplastic-free solution to the global issue of ocean pollution.

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) has brought in an experienced bioprocessing specialist to its FlexBio facility, adding to the range of expertise on offer to support biotechnology companies and projects to scale up to industrial size.  

While space may not be hospitable to life, it certainly offers significant opportunities for the life sciences, specifically biotechnology.