The launch included a keynote address by government chief scientist Professor John Beddington on the “perfect storm” of food shortages, scarce water and insufficient energy resources that would face the world by 2030. He highlighted how the Biosciences KTN could help to transfer cutting edge biotechnological research from universities into industry in a way that would radically transform the food supply chain.
Originally launched in February 2006 as the Bioscience for Business KTN, it became the Biosciences KTN in September 2009 by bringing together the Bioscience for Business KTN, Food Processing KTN and Genesis Faraday Partnership.
Chairman of the Biosciences KTN Dr Andrew Morgan, who is also chief scientific officer with Danisco, said: “We have got an opportunity to move from a petroleum-based world to a ‘bio-based’ world.” He described the potential for using biotechnology to bring the costs of enzymes down to the point where it was possible to convert cellulose into sugar, which could then be used as a substrate for chemicals – a market worth $3,000bn. “So that’s the big prize,” he added.
The Biosciences KTN will also contribute to the UK strategy for bioscience, recently published by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). This strategy has identified three priority areas: genomics; industrial biotechnology; and agriculture and food. Director of knowledge exchange with the TSB Dr David Way said: "The Biosciences KTN is crucial to promoting and delivering our strategy in those areas.”
The TSB also recently launched a new Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform to address the global challenges of sustainable agriculture and food, working in conjunction with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The aim of the platform, which has been funded to the sum of £90M over five years, is to increase productivity while reducing the environmental impact of the food and farming industries through innovation, technological research and development. Way said: “The Biosciences KTN, working with other KTNs [there are 15 in total] and universities, is absolutely critical to making a difference in this area.”
“We exist to help industry profit and grow from innovative products and processes that biotechnology and biological sciences make possible,” said Chris Warkup director of the Biosciences KTN. “As the Biosciences KTN, what we want to do is ensure the UK is a global leader in converting our fantastic science into innovative agriculture, food and industrial bioscience products … The power of bioscience is, I believe, yet to be fully appreciated.”
Warkup added: “If you want the big, audacious goal, it’s a future where, each year, we can sustain the planet and ourselves on little more than one year’s sunshine and create wealth for the innovation that made that possible.”