Bio-materials research in Cambridge is focussed on lignocellulosic biofuels, biosynthesis, polysaccharide components of plant cell wall, xylan, biohybrid materials, bio-inorganic chemistry and lifecycle assessment.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage is also an important negative emissions technology being developed to reach net zero.
Some key centres and initiatives include:
- CambPlants
- Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials
- Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability
- Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging from Plants (S2UPPlant)
- Cambridge Circular Plastics Centre
- EngBio IRC about synthetic and engineering biology research
Spin-out: Xampla, plastic alternative from sustainable and natural feedstocks
Researchers working in this area:
| Prof Jonathan Cullen |
Professor of Sustainable Engineering Member of the Energy IRC Steering Committee |
| Prof Paul Dupree |
Professor of Biochemistry Member of the Energy IRC Steering Committee |
| Prof Jim Haseloff | Professor of Synthetic Biology |
| Prof Chris Howe | Professor of Plant and Microbial Biochemistry |
| Prof Erwin Reisner | Professor of Energy and Sustainability |
| Prof Stuart Scott | Professor of Energy and Thermodynamics |
| Prof Alison Smith | Professor of Plant Biochemistry |
| Dr Jenny Zhang | Research Fellow |