IBioIC – Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) was established in 2014 to stimulate growth of the Industrial Biotechnology (IB) sector in Scotland. The National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology set a £900m turnover target to be achieved by 2025. In 2012 industrial biotechnology turnover in Scotland was less than £200 million, and as of 2019 the figure has grown significantly to £747 million (representing an increase of over 270%), helping it to become a powerhouse of Scotland’s economy. Analysis of the year-on-year accelerated company turnover growth can be correlated to the growth of IBioIC and its activities.

IBioIC is recognised as a European centre of excellence and connects world-leading industry with outstanding academic expertise and government to bring new IB processes and products to the global market. The IB sector makes an important contribution to the Scottish economy, while also reducing our impact on the environment. The growth of IB will help Scotland transition from being an economy largely based on fossil fuels to a more modern, cleaner model, fit for the future.

The Centre facilitates collaborations, provides scale-up capabilities, creates networks and develops skills. It provides support and expertise to ease the innovation journey of companies large and small to develop products for global markets. It currently has 134 members as of December 2021, over half of which are SME or Micro companies. IBioIC has also worked with 18 Universities and Research Institutes and 4 Further Education Colleges across Scotland to connect and build IB expertise, develop new skills programmes and foster strong business engagement.

IBioIC is firmly embedded in Scotland’s innovation ecosystem and works collaboratively with the other 6 Innovation Centres to build synergies and to find solutions for key challenges such as Net Zero, Health and Wellbeing and Sustainable Food Production.