Renaissance BioScience Corp., a leader in bioengineered yeast, and Biome Bioplastics Limited have announced a two-year collaboration valued at up to C$1.5 million (£814,000) to develop sustainable, renewable bioplastic building blocks using advanced fermentation processes. The project aims to produce bio-based alternatives to petroleum-derived materials for applications in packaging, personal care, health, and consumer goods.
The partnership receives support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and UK Research and Innovation's Innovate UK. This bilateral funding will provide resources to advance the project and deliver environmental benefits for both countries.
Over the course of the project, the partners will develop a sustainable system to produce a bio-based renewable building block for bioplastics. The work includes strain engineering and fermentation trials in Canada and the UK, resulting in process optimizations and production of test samples for global partners in packaging and personal care applications. The goal is to establish a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective pathway for producing renewable plastics that reduces fossil fuel dependence, minimizes waste, and meets performance expectations.
The global sustainable chemicals market is projected to exceed US$39 billion by 2034. This joint project strengthens Canada and the UK's leadership positions in this growing sector.
Dr. John Husnik, Renaissance's CSO and Office of the CEO, stated: "Biome Bioplastics is a recognized leader in sustainable materials, and together our expertise can deliver impactful renewable solutions that address plastic pollution while meeting the growing demand for high-performance alternatives."
Paul Mines, CEO at Biome Bioplastics, commented: "This is an exciting trans-Atlantic collaboration combining Renaissance's world-class capability in microbial engineering with Biome's engineering biology capability and experience in sustainable materials development and scale-up."
Biome Bioplastics is a leading developer of innovative bio-based plastics with headquarters in the UK and offices in Canada and the USA. More information is available at https://biomebioplastics.com/. Renaissance BioScience, based in Vancouver, Canada, is a yeast bioengineering company focused on providing cost-effective solutions for environmental and industrial challenges. More information can be found at www.renaissancebioscience.com.
This collaboration bridges biology and materials science to accelerate the transition to bioplastics made from renewable sources, offering a promising path toward reducing plastic pollution and dependence on fossil fuels.
