A groundbreaking $60 million Biosustainability Hub has been inaugurated at the University of Queensland (UQ), aimed at facilitating the world’s largest corporations in their transition to net zero emissions.
This initiative, supported by government funding, industry contributions, and UQ’s own investment, is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for transforming industrial production practices towards carbon neutrality, the university said in a news release.
The Biosustainability Hub, directed by Professor Esteban Marcellin from UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, is poised to become Australia’s first facility of its kind.
It will integrate research and industry efforts to tackle pressing global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, sustainable mining, and the future of food production.
Professor Marcellin emphasised the Hub’s role in advancing sustainable practices. “The Hub brings together cutting-edge research projects and some of the world’s biggest companies to find solutions to challenges like climate change, biodiversity, mining sustainability and future food production,” he said.
He continued, “We will be using the process of synthetic biology which develops new materials, fuels, foods, chemicals or medicines from waste by using biological processes.
The Hub aims to revolutionise industrial practices through biomanufacturing, offering alternative solutions that are more environmentally friendly.
Industry partnerships already in progress include collaborations with LanzaTech, which is developing methods to convert greenhouse gases into sustainable aviation fuel, and Woodside Energy, which is exploring gas fermentation to create innovative products.
Additionally, global mining group Rio Tinto is working on reducing pollution and resource recovery to support global net zero goals, while the Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) is focused on future ingredient development.
Woodside Energy’s VP of Energy Solutions, Technical and Energy Development, Jason Crusan, highlighted the importance of biological solutions in decarbonisation efforts.
“At Woodside Energy, we have set very clear emissions reduction targets, and we believe that biological solutions could be an important part of the solutions to help us achieve our emissions reductions,” he said.
LanzaTech co-founder Dr Sean Simpson expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration.
“We are excited to bring our knowledge and experience to the UQ Biosustainability Hub to help accelerate industrial transition to net zero,” he said.
Professor Marcellin described the Hub as a confluence of engineering, biology, and industry, designed to enable meaningful and lasting change.
“This is an exciting opportunity to model a new way of working with industry leaders, not only for society, but also to create economically viable solutions and opportunities for our partners that will help them transition their production practices,” he noted.
The Biosustainability Hub will be located at UQ’s Andrew N. Liveris Building and will be open to industry, researchers, and government entities both within Australia and internationally.
