Engineering biology for a sustainable world

As we look for ways to protect our environment and support the health of billions across the globe, we turn to nature’s own processes to provide the answers.

Biotechnology is enabling us to find new and more sustainable ways to produce chemicals, materials, and everyday products, by understanding and harnessing biological processes and applying them at industrial scales.

By engineering biology, we can create more environmentally friendly agricultural products, produce human therapeutics quickly and at a lower cost, and reduce carbon emissions from key industries while also divesting those industries from petrochemical feedstocks. 

Supported by the internationally recognised Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, our 400+ experts are innovating solutions to key challenges in environmental sustainability, clean energy, health, and sustainable manufacturing.  

Our research covers

Key institutes

Tomorrow Labs

Discover our cutting edge facilities where you can access the expertise and equipment you need to address your biotechnology research needs.

Find out more about Tomorrow Labs

Tomorrow Labs

News

See all news
Show previous news story Show next news story

University of Manchester researchers awarded £2 million as part of a global initiative into advancing the bioeconomy

Today, the BBSRC announced that researchers at The University of Manchester have been awarded £2 million as part of the Global Centre Bioeconomy grant, an $82 million initiative led by the National Science Foundation in the US.

Machine learning powers discovery of new molecules to enhance the safe freezing of medicines and vaccines

Scientists from The University of Manchester and the University of Warwick have developed a cutting-edge computational framework that enhances the safe freezing of medicines and vaccines.

Scientists develop artificial sugars to enhance disease diagnosis and treatment accuracy

Scientists have found a way to create artificial sugars that could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat diseases more accurately than ever before.

Scientists make breakthrough in development of fridge-free storage for vital medicines

Scientists have developed a new approach to store and distribute crucial protein therapeutics without the need for fridges or freezers.

Bio-inspired ceramics: how DeakinBio are tackling one of the most polluting industries worldwide

When lockdown started, Dr Aled Roberts headed to his cellar.Limited to ingredients he could find in his house – baking soda, brick dust, protein powder, and the odd leaf – he picked up a coffee grinder, his microwave, and his KitchenAid mixer and started to turn his basement into a basic laboratory.“I called it the Cellar of Materials Discovery. I remember thinking that the main benefit of this approach would be that the products I developed would automatically be low cost and commercially feasible, because they would only depend on cheap, everyday materials.”So, while the rest of us were binge-watching TV series, or learning to hate sourdough, Aled was making an exciting breakthrough. He discovered that the ingredients he was working with held promise; mixed together, they created a strong, concrete-like substance that could make a big difference to the polluting concrete and ceramics industries. Soon after, during another lockdown in January 2021, he founded DeakinBio.Starting up the production lineAfter years of publishing papers and filing patents, the Manchester-based researcher was becoming impatient with the lack of industrial uptake of his inventions. So, he took DeakinBio on a journey from the Manchester Insitute of Biotechnology (MIB), through the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre (GEIC) – where he benefitted from the industry expertise of the GEIC team – to eventually secure his own workshop in a small railway arch just behind Piccadilly train station. This was the chance Aled was waiting for, a chance to make a difference.DeakinBio’s latest invention is the material Eralith. Eralith is a green alternative to the tiles you usually see in kitchens and bathrooms. It has a recycled content of over 98% and is made almost entirely from recycled plaster, which is combined with other bio-based ingredients (such as byproducts from the brewing industry) to make a durable product with a fraction of the environmental impact of traditional tiles.Ceramic tiles have a huge carbon footprint at over 16 kg CO2 per square meter. If the world is serious about meeting its emissions reduction targets, and mitigating the worst effects of climate change, then finding low-carbon alternatives to conventional construction materials will have to be part of the solution. Eralith promises just that, with tiles made from the material having a 94% lower CO2 footprint.What’s more, Eralith does not rely on high-energy kiln firing to produce a usable material. It can simply be baked at the normal temperatures you’d use in your own oven for a Friday-night pizza.Looking back in timeMuch of Aled’s work is inspired by history, how humans have used the natural materials around them to create products, tools, and other daily commodities from what nature provides. By emulating natural materials like seashells, tooth enamel, and pearls, Aled is able to construct his materials in minutes, rather than having to grow them more gradually, combining waste mineral powders with bio-based binders to create bioinspired composites.But of course, this wasn’t just a history lesson for Aled. As a Research Fellow in the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB), when he embarked upon this journey, Aled already had years of biomaterial development experience behind him. He’d previously been involved in developing synthetic biomaterials from spider silk, alongside protein-based bio-adhesives and bio-composites – experience he was determined to put to good use.Aled made international headlines in 2021 with his first material, AstroCrete, where he experimented with combining a protein from human blood with a compound from urine, sweat or tears, to glue together simulated moon or Mars soil (regolith). This produced a material as strong than ordinary concrete with a compressive strength as high as 25 Megapascals (MPa) – about the same as the 20–32 MPa seen in ordinary concrete – which has the potential to be used in future space colonisation missions.Out of the kiln and into the oven?With the cement and concrete industries contributing 8% of the global CO2 emissions, it’s easy to understand why Aled’s materials have created such excitement.But while his goals are noble, his journey out of the Cellar of Materials Discovery hasn’t been easy. As a new start-up, moving away from academia and navigating the business world was no mean feat. Aled had to learn the tricks of the trade while simultaneously developing his material. But, with the launch of the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst (IBIC) there will be more ways for DeakinBio to benefit from the growing industrial biotechnology ecosystem in the north-west.“I’m a start-up, rather than a spinout, which means I've done most of the business stuff solo. This has been hard, but it has given me a lot of creative freedom which has been fun.” says Aled. “while I didn't get to benefit from some of the support offered to spinouts, I did benefit from starting within the University's ecosystem. Developing my ideas in an international hub such as the MIB and then taking up labspace in the GEIC were both opportunities that gave me the confidence to take my product out into the world.”Now, Aled and his team are looking forward to a brighter world of carbon-reduced construction. “We’re hoping to close our first round of pre-seed funding in the next few weeks, which will give us funds to continue development and scale-up our technology. Our aim is for these tiles to become a small piece in the puzzle towards solving this huge global challenge.” And with a new business partner onboard who can help with the paperwork Aled can get back to what he does best, tinkering in his much larger cellar (railway arch), to create the next generation of bioinspired material products.For Dr Roberts, what began in a Manchester basement with baking soda and a dream of making positive changes, may soon lead to a more environmentally-friendly future for humanity, and perhaps even to construction projects far beyond the boundaires of our planet.

Unlocking the future of biotechnology: ICED revolutionises enzyme design

Researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) and the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) have launched a groundbreaking initiative poised to transform the landscape of engineering biology for industrial applications. The International Centre for Enzyme Design (ICED) brings together internationally leading research teams to establish a fully integrated computational and experimental platform to develop a new generation of industrial biocatalysts.

Manchester researchers help secure £49.35m to boost mass spectrometry research

Scientists at The University of Manchester have supported a successful bid for a new distributed research and innovation infrastructure aimed at bolstering the UK’s capability in mass spectrometry.

Postdoctoral researcher wins prestigious Women in Science award for sustainable development

Dr Reem Swidah, a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Manchester, has been awarded the prestigious L'Oréal UNESCO Award for Women in Science for her work in sustainable development.

Events

All events

Connect with us

For business

  • Leverage our expertise, facilities and network to develop solutions to your challenges.
  • Gain access to some of the brightest minds working across our research pathways to help you make change happen.

Contact our business team

Search our research database

  • Use Research Explorer to access publications, activities and more.
  • Search researcher profiles and connect with fellow experts.

Search our research database

For policy work

  • Connect with our researchers to build relationships, explore areas of interest and enhance your understanding of pressing policy challenges.
  • Access high quality policy articles and publications from our academics.

Speak to our policy experts

General enquiries

Speak to our research beacons team who can help connect you with the expert you're looking for.

Contact us - research beacons team

Research at Manchester

Find out more about the breadth and depth of research at our University.

Discover more about research at Manchester