Scottish bioeconomy gets £1.5m funding boost
Funding of £1.5 million is to be made available for businesses and research institutions working in the bioeconomy in Scotland to support innovative work that will help deliver circular economy growth.
Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, announced the fund, the latest part of the Scottish Government’s £70-million Circular Economy Investment Fund and Service, during his address to the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy Conference 2016, held this week in Glasgow.
The bioeconomy refers to all economic activity from using living systems and organisms to develop or make products. The funding will be made available to companies working in industrial biotechnology, food and drink, and the wider bioeconomy in Scotland.
Scotland is already home to a number of companies working in this area. These include CelluComp, a company turning nanofibres from root vegetables into a thickener for paint, and Ogilvy Spirits, which is making vodka from potatoes deemed not suitable for the supermarket.
The government says that such projects may help reduce waste and provide added value opportunities for the food and drink sector in Scotland.
Speaking to the conference, Wheelhouse said: “We want Scotland to be recognised as an international leader in the sustainable use of our biological resources, and I am pleased to say that Scotland is already home to a number of innovative businesses.”
The opportunity has been created by Zero Waste Scotland in partnership with the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), a research facility based in Strathclyde that was designed to stimulate the growth and success of the biotechnology industry in Scotland by connecting the dots between industry, academia and government.
The new funding opportunity includes funding from the European Regional Development Fund to support innovative work that will help deliver circular economy growth – growth that promotes greater resource productivity aiming to reduce waste and pollution – in industrial biotechnology and bioeconomy areas.
Funding may be awarded to bioeconomy projects led by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and supported by Scotland's academic talent or to projects led by SMEs to progress innovative projects themselves or as part of a collaboration.
Commenting on the fund, Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “The bio-economy has a key role to play in creating a more sustainable future where we use resources in the most efficient way and reduce waste. This is an area of growth for Scotland’s economy and this funding is intended to support transformative projects.”
The deadline for outline project proposals is 19 December.
More information about the funding opportunity can be found at IBioIC’s website.
