Ingenza Ltd kicks off its ground-breaking project “BioReact Carbon Formate”
Last year Scottish biotechnology SME Ingenza Ltd kicked off its ground-breaking project “BioReact Carbon Formate” in collaboration with UK speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company Johnson Matthey. The project partners successfully obtained £441k funding support from BEIS via its Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 competition. The focus of this project is to develop a novel CO2 to formate bioconversion technology which abates industrial CO2 emissions with an anticipated net negative carbon footprint. It builds on the success of previous Proof of Concept work with a forward ambition to deliver a cost competitive and viable formate production bioprocess that can be readily deployed at scale.
Ingenza is implementing its expertise in engineering biology and biocatalysis development to produce a robust biocatalyst that enzymatically reduces gaseous CO2 into formate in the presence of H2 gas. Project partner Johnson Matthey is applying its world class knowledge in chemical engineering to design and develop a continuous bioreactor system which is hoped to provide critical advances in process performance needed to ensure aggressive techno-economic and LCA objectives can be achieved.
Schematic outlining how continuous conversion of CO2 to formate process will work
Formic acid and its corresponding salts have a number of direct industrial uses in a variety of different sectors (primary markets). In addition, Ingenza have identified opportunities to drive greater circulatory of carbon in several existing industrial processes that use formate (secondary markets), such as a fermentation feedstock to produce higher value chemicals or as a safer, readily transportable hydrogen carrier compared to hydrogen gas.
Recently the project partners have co-invested in a high precision gas reactor system (image below), which will be used to screen and identify improved enzyme variant libraries produced at Ingenza. The lead biocatalyst candidates will then be selected for further testing at Johnson Matthey, who will determine improvements in bioprocess productivity using the continuous bioreactor they are developing as part of the project. If successful, Ingenza and JM expect this CCU technology could be widely applied to any CO2 emitting industrial sectors and aim to be market leaders in deploying an innovative, sustainable biotech solution to address growing environmental and global net zero challenges we all face.
