The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has launched an $18 million upgrade to its Mackay-based QUT Pioneer BioPilot. According to the university, this will transform the plant into Australia’s leading pilot-scale fermentation facility.
The upgrade was carried out with funding from the Australian and Queensland governments and completed in association with Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA). Companies will now be able to work with QUT researchers to develop new types of food and other bioproducts, helping to create sustainable solutions to agricultural challenges.
The facility was previously called the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant (MRBPP), and has been operating for the past 15 years.
“The QUT Pioneer BioPilot provides key infrastructure, allowing companies to take new innovations from the lab to pilot-scale,” said FaBA Director Dr Chris Downs. “FaBA is investing in precision fermentation so that companies of all sizes can develop new products and ingredients, in turn helping grow Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing sector.”
“No one else can provide the capability we are offering”
QUT researchers are now partnering with biotech startup Eclipse Ingredients and other institutions for a $5.5 million project to commercialise human lactoferrin made through precision fermentation. Lactoferrin is said to offer immune-boosting, iron-enhancing, and anti-inflammatory properties. Eclipse Ingredients CEO Siobhan Coster said the partnership would be crucial to “bridge the gap between breakthrough science and real-world impact”.
It is hoped that the upgrade to the QUT Pioneer BioPilot will advance Queensland’s ambition to become an Asia-Pacific biomanufacturing hub.
“This facility will enable innovative companies to take their ideas beyond the lab and into commercial reality, building Queensland’s reputation as a regional leader in biomanufacturing,” said QUT Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy researcher Professor Ian O’Hara. “No one else can provide the capability we are offering Australian industries through the QUT Pioneer BioPilot.”
