Key Takeaways
- Scotland launches the BioProcess Scale-up Accelerator Competition, offering up to £10,000 for project costs.
- The initiative aims to transition lab processes to commercial-scale production, backed by Scottish Government funding.
- Projects must be completed by March 2027, with applications closing on September 1, 2026.
Supporting Industrial Biotechnology Growth
Scotland’s industrial biotechnology sector is set for further advancement with the introduction of the BioProcess Scale-up Accelerator Competition, facilitated by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC). The competition invites both businesses and academic teams to apply for funding of up to £10,000 to utilize the FlexBIO facility at Heriot-Watt University.
This initiative addresses a critical challenge in industrial biotechnology: the transition from laboratory research to commercial production processes that operate reliably at scale. Funded by the Scottish Government, the program builds on last year’s launch of Scotland’s first open-access 300-litre fermenter. This facility allows organizations to validate bioprocesses on a larger scale without the need for significant capital investment in specialized infrastructure.
The competition is designed to support projects ranging from bench-scale experiments to production at 300 litres, equipping organizations for manufacturing, customer trials, and securing future investments. Neil Renault, director of bioprocessing scale-up at FlexBIO, emphasizes the importance of understanding how various processes behave as they are scaled up, highlighting that each step requires thorough analysis of fermentation, downstream processing, and product recovery.
One notable participant, HydRegen—an Oxford University spinout—has been leveraging FlexBIO to scale its enzyme-based technology that substitutes heavy metal catalysts in chemical manufacturing. Faced with the need to produce a larger enzyme volume for a demonstration, HydRegen successfully transferred its five-litre laboratory process to the 300-litre fermenter, achieving a working volume of 200 litres. This scale-up not only provided product quantity but also essential data on process performance.
Renault noted that specialized infrastructure is crucial for assisting companies in overcoming laboratory limits, stating, “Access to infrastructure can provide not only the quantities of material businesses need, but also the process data and confidence required to take the next step towards commercial manufacturing.” Dr. Matthew Hodges, COO at HydRegen, echoed this sentiment by emphasizing how the facility and its technical support have bolstered the company’s confidence in moving towards commercialization.
The BioProcess Scale-up Accelerator Competition is open to projects from both industry and academic sectors with a clear market approach and plans for follow-on investment. Participants must complete their projects by the end of March 2027, contributing to Scotland’s bio-based manufacturing landscape through business expansion, investment initiatives, collaborative research, or enhanced supply chains. The deadline for application submissions is September 1, 2026.
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