BREAKINGBAD: Breaking Cost Parity in Biomanufacturing and Defossilisation

Bringing together industry leaders, innovators, investors, policymakers and researchers we will identify practical pathways for accelerating the commercialisation of bio-based chemicals in the UK. Participants will examine the technical, economic and regulatory barriers to scale-up, explore opportunities for shared infrastructure and strategic investment, and discuss how engineering biology can contribute to a more resilient, low-carbon and globally competitive chemicals sector. 

Please note that this event is aimed at industry, policymakers and tenured academics

Background

The UK chemicals sector underpins modern life, supplying materials essential for food, healthcare, defence, energy, consumer care, packaging and textiles. Yet it remains heavily dependent on virgin fossil carbon, contributing around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and exposing supply chains to volatility and geopolitical risk. Defossilising chemical manufacturing is therefore both an economic and strategic imperative. 

Engineering Biology (EB) offers one of the most credible routes to replace fossil-derived feedstocks with renewable, circular alternatives. The UK has invested over £450m in EB research since 2018 and has a genuinely world-leading science base. However, this strength is not translating into commercial-scale manufacturing at the pace required. Bio-based chemicals are still typically 2–7x more expensive than fossil incumbents, scale-up infrastructure is fragmented, and promising UK innovations are often commercialised overseas.

Despite strong demand signals from industry and consumers, four systemic barriers continue to prevent scale-up of bio-based chemicals: 

• Feedstock constraints, including variable quality, limited supply and high-cost renewable inputs. 

• High production costs driven by inefficient fermentation, energy-intensive sterilisation, batch processing and complex downstream processing. 

• Lack of affordable scale-up infrastructure, particularly facilities designed for high-volume, low-margin chemicals rather than biopharma. 

• Investment risk, with SMEs unable to fund pilot and demonstration-scale facilities and private capital reluctant to back shared, pre-competitive infrastructure. 

Without intervention, the UK risks continued fossil resource lock-in, loss of high-value jobs and erosion of its EB leadership as early-stage UK companies migrate overseas to expand and scale their operations.

This event will bring together industry leaders, innovators, investors, policymakers and researchers to identify practical pathways for accelerating the commercialisation of bio-based chemicals in the UK. Participants will examine the technical, economic and regulatory barriers to scale-up, explore opportunities for shared infrastructure and strategic investment, and discuss how engineering biology can contribute to a more resilient, low-carbon and globally competitive chemicals sector.

The discussion will focus on actionable recommendations across feedstocks, manufacturing technologies, infrastructure, finance and market development, with the aim of strengthening the UK’s position as a destination for sustainable chemical manufacturing.

AGENDA

09:00 – 09:30 | Registration & Networking 

09:30 – 10:00 | Opening Plenary: The Cost Parity Challenge | Damian Kelly, Croda

10:00 – 10:30 | Challenge 1: Feedstocks – The Carbon Supply Challenge | Panel Session: Chaired by Jen Vanderhoven, BBIA. Mark Corbett, Biorenewables Development Centre, Eve Bird, BioBased Innovations Limited, Chris Chuck, Clean Food Group

10:30 -10:50 | Challenge 2: Microbial productivity and constraints | Neil Dixon, University of Manchester

10:50 – 11:10 | Coffee Break

11:10 -11:30 | Challenge 3: Bioreactor and Downstream BioProcessing | John Blacker, University of Leeds

11:30 – 11:45 | Challenge 4: Energy & Operating Costs | Richard Lock, Holiferm

11:45 – 12:10 | Lessons Learnt: The Circular Biomanufacturing Challenge | Patrick Rose, SPRIND

12:10 – 13:00 | Lunch & Networking

13:00 – 13:20 UK Ambition for Engineering Biology and Biomanufacturing | Hannah Regan, DSIT

13:20– 16:00 | Round Table Discussions: Designing the interventions to reach cost parity

16:00 – 17:00 | Round Table Feedback and ‘From Barriers to a Roadmap’

17:00 | Next Steps and Close