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Teesside biotech gets cash boost

A new centre to pioneer low-carbon techniques and help petrochemical companies is being established in the region.

A £12m investment in an industrial biotechnology (IB) facility at Wilton, on Teesside, was announced last week.

It will enable new materials to be tested on a large scale.

It will also bring a number of jobs to the region, with the creation of 15 when it opens late next year, as well as potentially safeguarding hundreds more at Teesside’s petrochemical plants.

It will attract companies looking to test materials such as biodiesel, biomass feedstocks and other chemicals, and also comes as a boost for Wilton and the chemicals sector on Teesside, which only last week suffered two plant closures in a day, sparking fears over its future viability.

Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, said this was a timely boost for the sector and the region.

“This investment in an IB demonstrator will give a real boost to green jobs in the North East and to the chemicals industry in the UK.

“The facility will enable companies to test their products and processes, enabling them to bring their products to market more quickly and much more affordably,” he said.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of One North East, said: “We are working closely with CPI and the Government on the increasing importance of biotechnology and low carbon processes within the process industries sector in the North East.

“Current economic conditions have accelerated this work and the creation of this facility is a clear recognition from government of the national importance of the Tees Valley to the process sector and the shift to more sustainable processes.

“This new facility will encourage more investment into the area and position the Tees Valley at the forefront of changes in the process sector.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .