The University of Queensland (UQ) has officially opened its new $60 million Biosustainability Hub, already working with companies on future food ingredients to accelerate an Australian and global transition to a sustainable bioeconomy.
Initially announced in mid-2024, the Hub has been co-funded by government, industry and UQ to support companies in transforming production practices and creating carbon neutral economically viable products and materials.
The Hub is located at UQ’s Andrew Liveris building, housing more than 200 bioreactors and National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) funded facilities like Q-MAP and IDEABio. It will be directed by UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) group leader, Professor Esteban Marcellin.
AIBN institute director, Kristofer Thurecht, said the milestone reflects years of collaboration between researchers, industry partners, and government and university leaders who share the belief that biotechnology can help transform the way we produce things essential for everyday life.
“We know that around the world, government and industries are looking for more sustainable ways to manufacture the products we rely on every day while reducing emissions, waste and dependence on finite resources,” said Thurecht.
“The Hub is more than just a research facility. It’s a growing community of more than 100 staff from across various UQ schools and institutes, working towards a vision of a more sustainable world alongside industry.
“Even though this is the official opening of the Hub, there is already some exciting work underway. Hub researchers are developing lower-calorie sugars, finding new ways to restore and improve agricultural soils, and turning industrial emissions into valuable new products,” he said.
A key feature of the Hub is the construction of a new food-grade pilot-scale laboratory, which will enable researchers and industry partners to test and scale up new biomanufactured products. It’s already hard at work, with AIBN’s Dr Axayacatl Gonzalez and Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA)’s Dr Nathan Zhong currently working with MSF Sugars to create highly valuable rare sugars in microbial cell factories.
UQ vice-chancellor and president, Professor Deborah Terry, said the Biosustainability Hub represents renewed momentum to create sustainable product solutions for businesses while ensuring they maintain global competitiveness.
“The need to transition to a low-carbon economy is not a distant concern. Addressing this challenge will require more than incremental change. It will require new ways of thinking, new technologies, and new partnerships,” said Terry.
“Together, researchers will work with industry partners to address challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, mining sustainability and pressures on food and water systems by helping to modify production practices to create carbon-neutral products and materials.”
The opening comes as industry is raising concerns about the future of food and beverage R&D, following CSIRO’s exit from food ingredient innovation, precision fermentation, microbial technologies, and its national food innovation network earlier this year.
Increased funding and commitment to universities that can bring together the people, expertise and infrastructure needed to tackle food system challenges could help bridge this gap.
RMIT also just launched a Food Innovation Hub at its Bundoora campus in Melbourne’s north, positioning it as a way to help food manufacturers turn research into commercial products and tackle food system challenges.
