The University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Enzyme Innovation will use the UKRI funding to lead the Preventing Plastic Pollution with Engineering Biology Mission Hub to support the UK transition to a circular plastics economy.
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, will receive £11.2m from the UKRI Technology Missions Fund over the next five years.
The CEI in Portsmouth will receive £3.5m from this fund to support its efforts to reduce plastic waste.
Work of the P3EB Mission Hub
The P3EB Mission Hub aims to transform end-of-life plastic waste using cutting-edge biology technologies. Working in collaboration, the CEI will use its enzyme technology to impart value to plastic waste to incentivise its recovery and retention.
This will reduce the amount of plastic destined for landfill, incineration, or 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.”
Scaling up enzyme technology
Formed in 2019, the CEI delivers transformative enzyme-enabled solutions for the circular recycling of plastic waste.
In the past year, it has accelerated research which can take these enzymes to the next level of recycling at scale.
Transitioning from the lab to the real world requires state-of-the-art facilities, exceptional researchers, and close collaboration with key stakeholders.
Revolution Plastics Institute
The CEI is part of the University’s Revolution Plastics Institute, launched following the success of the Revolution Plastics initiative that has helped form national and global policies on plastic waste.
The institute operates as a network of interconnected researchers across the University, consolidating plastic-focused research and an innovative teaching community.
