The James Hutton Institute is delighted to announce that sustainable dye developer SeaDyes has joined the Hutton as a spin-in company, securing £75,000 of funding from Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth Spinout Programme.

Revolutionary developments in renewable energy, mental health, education, sport, medicine and food and drink have made it to the finals of the 10th Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards highlighting the diversity of sectors and disciplines thriving in Scotland. With 32 individuals, teams and projects shortlisted across 10 categories, the 10th anniversary celebration will be the largest to date.

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) has appointed Dr Peter Williams, Group Technology Director and Head Of Investor Relations at INEOS, to lead its governing board and support the centre’s continued impact on the growing bioeconomy.

Firefinch Software is delighted to announce the hiring of Isabel Vincent as Market Development Manager within their team. As Market Development Manager, Isabel is keen to connect to a wide range of life science and biotech software users to better understand their needs and pain points – and see if the Firefinch team can assist.

As MiAlgae accelerates its mission to revolutionise Omega-3 production, it has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Jerome Quiohilag as Associate Director. The company repurposes whisky industry by-products to grow microalgae as a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to fish-derived Omega-3 sources

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.