Driving industrial biotechnology forward in the UK
IBioIC is a membership organisation, which plays a central role in helping startups and SMEs move innovative ideas forward through networking, funding, innovation support, skills and access to facilities. A key bottleneck for innovation is the need to demonstrate bioprocesses are saleable from lab-scale. FlexBIO is IBioIC’s open-access bioprocessing scale-up facility, hosted at Heriot-watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland). They are particularly engaged in projects themed around cirular bioeconomy, which involve working with a wide variety of biomasses and feedstocks, from seaweed to seafood waste, food industry by-products, and even waste lithium batteries. By providing access to advanced equipment and facilities, IBioIC supports scaling up processes from lab bench to pilot scale. This type of support is especially important for companies that would not otherwise have the resources to test new technologies or validate processes before taking them to market.
INFORS HT systems powering scale-up at IBioIC
Over the years, IBioIC has worked with INFORS HT on several systems including the Labfors 5 solid-state fermenter and most recently the 300 L Techfors pilot-scale bioreactor used for microbial fermentation.
Their most recent installation was described by Neil Renault, Facility Manager at IBioIC, FlexBIO Facility, as a very positive experience:
“The experience of working with INFORS has been a really good one, from the procurement process through, drafting of P&ID diagrams through the build and attending the factory in Switzerland to see the latter stages. All the way through to delivery. To combine an excellent commissioning and training experience for all involved. INFORS seem to always keep innovating, so there's always subtle differences between the systems which have been implemented following recognised improvements that have been made over previous versions of the same system. This just gives you a sense of the level of experience that they have building this equipment.”
IBioIC also emphasized the importance of support after installation:
“I always say you can never judge equipment manufacturer just on their quote up front, it inevitably all comes down to the support you get after a sale and ongoing support both when you have technical issues but also unique application supports you need. INFORS is a great example of that in terms of the support they will give you.”
From novel feedstocks to waste valorization
The INFORS HT Solid-State Fermenter was funded by Marine Fund Scotland via the Scottish Government. IBioIC saw a real need to work with seaweed as an emerging feedstock. While many people preserve seaweed in acidic fermentations, many high-value products in seaweed do not tolerate those conditions.
As IBioIC explained:
“Novel fermentations and novel fermentation technologies allow us to work with industry and researchers to scale up novel methods, feedstocks and novel strains of organisms. This type of technology can also be used in a lot of other biomasses. And in particular, in areas of the bioeconomy such as waste valorisation to extract value from a previously discarded waste.”
This approach not only advances research into seaweed but also supports broader goals in sustainable biotechnology, showing how waste streams like seafood by-products or food industry residues can become valuable feedstocks within the circular bioeconomy.