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(Photo credit: University of Portsmouth)

Enzymatic recycling

University of Portsmouth to share in £100 million funding to lead major science and technology hub to reduce plastic waste

2:26 min Enzymatic recyclingONE:24
Portsmouth, United Kingdom

The University’s Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI) will lead the Preventing Plastic Pollution with Engineering Biology (P3EB) Mission Hub to support the transition towards a circular plastics economy in the UK.

The University of Portsmouth is to share in £100 million of funding, it has been announced by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) on February 9th.

The money will be given to six new ‘Engineering Biology Mission Hubs’ and 22 ‘Mission Award’ projects across the country, that will look to build on Engineering Biology’s enormous potential to address global challenges, drive economic growth, and increase national resilience.

The University’s Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI) will lead the Preventing Plastic Pollution with Engineering Biology (P3EB) Mission Hub, which also includes Bangor University, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London, University of Manchester, and University College London. The P3EB Mission Hub will receive £11.2 million from the “UKRI Technology Missions Fund” over the next 5 years, with £3.5 million supporting the CEI in Portsmouth.

The P3EB Mission Hub is a pioneering initiative aimed at transforming end-of-life plastic waste using cutting-edge engineering biology technologies. Working in partnership, the CEI will use its transformative enzyme technology to impart value into plastic waste, incentivising its recovery and retention, and so reducing the amount destined for landfill, for incineration, or being discarded into our environment.

Professor Andy Pickford, Director of the CEI and lead principal investigator of the P3EB Mission Hub, said: “Our approach is enabled by our wide-ranging expertise and our influential project partners, and steered by engagement with the public and with policymakers. Our mission is aligned with the needs of industry, so as to bring about comprehensive and enduring change, and support the transition towards a circular plastics economy in the UK, creating job opportunities and wealth for the country.

“We are delighted that DSIT, UKRI and BBSRC share our vision, and are determined to deliver positive impacts for the economy, for society and – most importantly – for our environment.”

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