New $6 million fund to accelerate synthetic biology and biomanufacturing capability

Tuesday, 06 September 2022

The NSW Government is investing $6 million in a new synthetic biology and biomanufacturing development program, designed to improve access to manufacturing and production facilities and equipment across the State.

Synthetic biology and biomanufacturing involves the design and manufacture of new and existing living systems to make products with applications in areas including biofuels, food production, manufacturing, environmental protection and healthcare.

Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens said the NSW Government is calling for applications from universities, research organisations, industry and consortiums for infrastructure and programs to support the scale-up and commercialisation of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing products.

“The NSW Government’s 20-Year R&D Roadmap identified Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing as an area of comparative advantage for NSW,” Mr Henskens said.

“This program will attract applications with enormous potential to grow our economy, create jobs, turbocharge industries and secure a brighter future for NSW.”

NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said the program will support shared synthetic biology and biomanufacturing research infrastructure, facilities and programs to enable research translation and small-scale manufacturing involving collaboration between university and industry groups.

“There is opportunity for NSW, with its leading researchers and technologies, to become a major global player in this dynamic space,” Professor Durrant-Whyte said.

“By 2025, the global economic impact of synthetic biology in the biofuels, chemicals, agriculture and healthcare sectors is expected to reach up to US$1.6 trillion.”

The Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund (EIIF) will support the new program and applications close Thursday 20 October 2022. More information on the fund and eligibility can be found at www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/synthetic-biology-and-biomanufacturing.