The £14 million Carbon-Loop Sustainable Biomanufacturing Hub (C-Loop) will use microorganisms to transform carbon-based waste usually destined for landfill into next-generation materials including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. 

By harnessing the power of engineering biology, C-Loop aims to make the manufacturing of everyday products – more than 90 per cent of which are manufactured from fossil fuels using unsustainable chemical processes – cleaner and part of a circular economy.

Engineering biology – an area in which the University of Edinburgh is a UK and global leader - involves the application of engineering principles to biological processes to create new materials, treatments and solutions. 

The hub will also establish the UK’s first BioFactory, a dedicated platform for waste analysis, sustainability evaluation and scale-up that will cut emissions, reduce landfill and help to build a fossil-free manufacturing base.

C-Loop is one of four UK-wide centres announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which is providing £11 million of the funding, and part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

It will be led by Professor Stephen Wallace, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Chair of Chemical Biotechnology from the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with the Universities of Manchester, Nottingham and Surrey,  Imperial College and UCL. We’re proud to be part of this Hub, with Dr Emily Kostas representing UCL Biochemical Engineering and the new Manufacturing Futures Lab (MFL) at UCL East, by leading one of the work packages and  serving on the C-Loop Management Board as Chair of the Researcher Forum and EDI/RRI lead.

Dr Emily Kostas in UCL Biochemical Engineering lab

Supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, more than 40 industry partners are involved in the hub. These include global companies from across seven industry sectors, national innovation centres such as IBioIC and facilities such as the Edinburgh Genome Foundry and Imperial’s BRC Genomics Facility

C-Loop’s multidisciplinary research community, which includes microbiologists, chemists, engineers and sustainability experts, will develop innovative supply chains to accelerate the development and commercial adoption of breakthrough technologies.

In doing so, the hub will help support UK-based engineering biology companies, nurture the UK’s capabilities in the area, and prevent talent and economic potential from leaving the country, the team says. 

Dr Emily Kostas, UCL Biochemical Engineering’s lead in the Hub said: “I’m excited to be part of the Carbon-Loop Sustainable Manufacturing Hub (C-Loop), which focuses on transforming carbon-based waste into valuable, sustainable products using Engineering Biology. At UCL, our work will explore converting seaweed waste into hyaluronic acid, supporting the UK’s growing seaweed sector by developing new upcycling methods for waste streams from seaweed biorefineries. We’ll be collaborating with Imperial College London on this effort. I’m also honoured to serve on the C-Loop Management Board as Chair of the Researcher Forum and EDI/RRI lead.”

Professor Stephen Wallace, Director of C-Loop, said: “Amid a growing population, diminishing natural resources, and a changing climate, there is now an urgent environmental, industrial and political imperative to rapidly harness engineering biology technologies to defossilise manufacturing and accelerate the UK’s path to net-zero.” 

“C-Loop brings together diverse expertise from across academic disciplines, industrial sectors, and the entire value-chain to drive the growth and scale-up of this emerging technology, unlocking its full climate and economic potential.”

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