Public Funding for Phycoworks Ltd

Microalgae-based biopolymer production offers a sustainable alternative to production based on fossil fuels or intensive animal and food crop agriculture. Crustacean-based extraction is currently the leading mode of production for certain biopolymers, however, it is limited by unsustainable extraction processes and variable product quality. This project will develop an alternative biomanufacturing process for biopolymer production based on a hyperproducing microalgae strain. PhycoWorks will develop the strain using a synthetic biology approach and evaluate pilot-scale cultivation process development with one.five. Utility of the biopolymer for applications in sustainable packaging formulations will be evaluated by one.five.

Plastics are a foundation of the modern economy, but our dependence on plastics has come at a heavy environmental cost. Global production of plastics has increased by 80% in the past two decades, reaching 370 million metric tons per year (Statista, 2022), and is responsible for 3.4% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions from plastic manufacturing in the UK alone amounted to 2.4 million metric tonnes in 2020 (Statista, 2020). The UK was also the world's second largest generator of plastic waste per capita in 2016 (Statista, 2016). Bio-based and bio-degradable plastics are an important part of the solution to this problem, due to the reduced carbon footprint and pollution associated with their production and disposal, respectively. This 6-month collaborative feasibility study between PhycoWorks and FlexSea will evaluate and optimise the use of microalgae as a biomanufacturing platform for bioplastics.

no public description