INNOVATIONS IN
BIOSYNTHESIS
BIOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVES to
TRADITIONAL SYNTHESIS METHODS
THE WINNER
OTHER FINALISTS
ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
CDT, a Sumitomo Chemical Group (SC Group) Company is looking for innovations in the use of biological systems as an alternative to traditional chemical synthesis.
THE BRIEF
The Green Transformation (GX) is one of the SC Group’s key priorities for the next few years. As part of this, biological alternatives to traditional high temperature and high-cost catalytic productions methods are sought which produce valuable outputs from sustainable feedstocks in an efficient manner.
The scope of this challenge is broad as the SC Group is active in multiple industries, but the key focus areas are commodity chemicals and agricultural technologies.
Some examples of applicable technologies for this challenge are:
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Enzyme/Protein engineering
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Cell-free biosynthesis
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Use of woody biomass
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Whole cell fermentation of non-GMO products
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Xenobiological biosynthesis (e.g. non-canonical amino acids/oligos)
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Supporting technologies for bio-catalysis (e.g. immobilisation technologies, anti-fouling coatings for bioreactors, product isolation and purification)
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Alternatives to cofactors (e.g. biomimetic cofactors)
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Cultured meat (lower priority)
POTENTIAL Benefits
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Take part in a proof-of-concept project, potentially leading to joint development with the SC Group.
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Develop strong cooperative ties to the SC Group.
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Grow your international network within the SC Group and its industry partners.
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Build your reputation through the strong brand of the SC Group.
product requirements
The process proposed must be relevant to one of the following:
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Commodity/bulk chemicals
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Active agricultural agents
The output must either be
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a process that produces one of these via sustainable feedstocks in a cost-effective and scalable fashion*,
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a technology that supports the production of one of these.
*N.B. Technologies that have not yet been scaled are also accepted as long as there is scalability potential.
participation requirements
No restrictions on participant backgrounds, solutions from both research and industry are welcome provided that product requirements can be met.
timeline
01 November 2022 - 15 January 2023
INFO DAY
5 December 2022
SELECTION
January 2023
PITCH
DAY
30 January 2023
RESULTS ANNOUNCED
February 2023
APPLICATIONS
ABOUT Cambridge display technology
As the European R&D centre for global chemicals giant Sumitomo Chemical, we collaborate with partners in academia and industry to address some of the most complex challenges facing society today.
The SC Group aims to contribute to solving problems facing the global community and to contribute to improving the Quality of Life for people around the world in areas such as resources, energy, food, and the environment by capitalizing on our technological prowess and to seek to earn the greater trust of our business partners, shareholders, investors, communities where we work, and all other stakeholders.
By merging synthetic biology with the chemical technologies it has cultivated over the years as a diversified chemical company, Sumitomo Chemical is developing highly functional products that cannot be manufactured by chemical synthesis alone, as well as highly efficient, clean, and energy-saving processes so that new businesses can be created. The SC Group is actively investing in research and development in the field of synthetic biology through various initiatives with start-ups and academia.