Biorefining in Wales

Adam Charlton

BioComposites Centre, Bangor University

BEACON Conference, Llandudno, 24-25 May 2017

• Background

• Impact

• Future

What is a biorefinery?

A facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and chemicals from biomass. The biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum refineries, which produce multiple

fuels and products from petroleum (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado)

Biorefining: From Plants to Multiple Products

• Forestry residues

• Ryegrass

• Miscanthus

• Straw

• Oats

• Macroalgae

• Food waste/ processing residues

• Chemicals

• Fuels

• Materials

• Natural Products

British Sugar -Wissington

BEACON Feasibility study (2008)- The Biorefining Opportunities in

Wales

• Establish a Welsh Centre of Excellence for Biorefining

• Develop supply chains within Wales and the UK

• Invest in infrastructure (equipment and transport links)

• Commission full life cycle assessment for biobased materials

A £32 Million partnership between the Universities of

Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea to establish a Biorefining

Centre of Excellence. Supported by the European Regional

Development Fund (2010-2019)

IMPACT and INNOVATION

• Collaborating with SMEs to create new jobs in the

bioeconomy, support inward investment and

promote science excellence in Wales

• Capacity building for H2020

The supply chain

Swansea

Aberystwyth

Bangor

Institute of Life Sciences

Full Commercialisation

Commercial demonstration

Demonstration - Large Pilot Scale

Demonstration - Small Pilot Scale

Proof of Concept - Large Pilot Scale

Proof of Concept - Small Pilot Scale

Proof of Concept - Bench Scale

Technology Concept or Application

Formulated

Basic Technology Observation

Technology Readiness

Levels

- Impact (2010-2015)

• 125 companies assisted/ 42 collaborative R&D projects- fermentation technology, biopolymers, marine biomass, platform chemicals, biomass pre-treatment, packaging and biocomposites, natural products, LCA

• 52 new jobs

• £7.5 million additional research income

• 16 new products, processes, services launched

Distribution of companies interacting with BEACON based on their SIC codes

Agriculture 6% Forestry

4%

Food & feeds 10%

Wood products 5%

Pharmaceuticals & chemicals

6%

Food & beverage processing

13%

Waste management 5%

Wholesale products 5%

Warehousing & storage

1%

Knowledge transfer 3%

Scientific consulting 3%

Biotechnology R&D 23%

Environmental consulting

11%

Educational 5%

http://beaconwales.org/en/case-studies

-Networks and Collaborations

• UK -BBSRC NIBBS, BioPilots UK

• Europe- COST Actions, H2020, BBI-JU

• International- Innovate UK (Newton Fund)/ BBSRC- China, Malaysia, Brazil, Canada, USA

Regiostars Winners (2014)

• EC’s “Regions for Economic Change” initiative- highlighting best practice in urban and regional development

• Over 80 nominations in four categories from funding regions throughout the EU member states

• BEACON won the ‘Sustainable growth- Green growth and jobs through Bio-economy’ category

- Future

• Wales- Innovation Centres: M-SPARC, Swansea Innovation Campus, AIEC

• UK- BioPilots UK (NIBBS, Innovate UK), Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

• Europe- H2020, BBI-JU

Ed Galley Associates

Thanks to: • Research and project support teams- Aberystwyth,

Bangor and Swansea

• Welsh European Funding Office

• More information:

beaconwales.org

twitter.com/beaconwales

www.linkedin.com/company/beacon-wales