The challenge
Improved industrial sustainability for a healthier planet
Improved industrial sustainability has become a global concern over the past few decades, with a clear need for less reliance on petrochemical feedstocks, reduced energy requirements and the reduction or elimination of waste. Biocatalytic processes provide an excellent solution to many of these issues through harnessing the natural efficiency and selectivity of enzymes.
Our response
Nature's nanotechnology
Enzymes are nature's nanotechnology: nanoscale machines that carry out all of the chemical reactions needed for life to survive and prosper. Evolution has produced a countless number of these chemical reactions, and as the world continues to evolve, so do the enzymes, responding to the introduction of new molecules with new functions. We can harness these enzymes for applications such as biocatalysis (making chemicals) and bioremediation (cleaning up pollution).
We draw on the amazing versatility of natural enzymes to provide new solutions for a variety of applications. Our team isolates and studies enzymes at an atomic level to understand how they work, we re-engineer them to be suitable for particular applications, and we even use the power of evolution to help us adapt enzymes for use in biocatalysis and bioremediation.
Our research provides biocatalytic alternatives for industries decreasing their reliance on petrochemical feedstocks and increasing sustainability through reduction of waste, energy usage and production costs.