Renaissance BioScience Corp., a global leader in bioengineered yeast for the agriculture, food, environmental and energy industries, has entered into a collaboration with UK-based Biome Bioplastics Limited on a two-year, initiative valued at up to C$1.5 million (£814,000) to innovate sustainable, renewable bioplastic building block production using advanced fermentation processes. The project will target applications in packaging, personal care, health, and consumer goods, offering sustainable, high-performance alternatives to conventional oil-based plastics. 

The partnership is supported by advisory services and funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and UK Research and Innovation’s Innovate UK. This bilateral support will provide resources to advance the project and deliver meaningful environmental benefits for both countries.

Over the course of the project, the partners will develop a sustainable system to produce a bio-based, renewable building block for bioplastics, replacing the need for petroleum-derived materials. The work will include strain engineering and fermentation trials in Canada and the UK, resulting in process optimizations and production of test samples for packaging and personal care applications by global partners. The goal is to establish a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective pathway for producing renewable plastics that reduces fossil fuel dependence, minimizes waste, and meets performance expectations for everyday products.

“The global sustainable chemicals market is projected to exceed US$39 billion by 2034. This exciting joint project between Renaissance and Biome will strengthen Canada and the UK’s leadership positions in this fast-growing sector,” the companies note.

Dr. John Husnik, Renaissance’s CSO and Office of the CEO, commented on the bioplastic project announcement: “Biome Bioplastics is a recognized leader in sustainable materials, and together our expertise can deliver impactful renewable solutions that address plastic pollution while meeting the growing demand for high-performance alternatives. Our team is eager to begin this exciting collaboration.”

Paul Mines, CEO at Biome Bioplastics, commented: “This is an exciting trans-Atlantic collaboration combining Renaissance’s world-class capability in microbial engineering with Biome’s engineering biology capability and experience in sustainable materials development and scale-up. This collaboration bridges biology and materials science to accelerate the transition to bioplastics made from renewable sources.”