BEACON Biorefining Centre of Excellence

General information

BEACON will help Welsh businesses develop new ways of converting crops such as rye grass, oats and Miscanthus (Asian elephant grass) into products including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fuels and cosmetics.

BEACON is led by Aberystwyth University in collaboration with partners at Bangor and Swansea Universities. It is backed with £10.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.

BEACON will build on research already underway at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) to produce fuels from energy crops such as high-sugar grasses like rye. It will also enable Swansea University to focus on developing their expertise in using bacteria and fungi to digest, or ferment, plant matter within the bio-refining process.

Bangor University will build on work to develop new materials from plants which can be used to develop innovative products, having recently discovered that compounds found in some local plants can be used to control problems like potato blight.

We are seeking to:

- Establish links between the business community and academia within Wales
- Develop new products and processes that will support economic growth
- Create highly skilled jobs in the area of green biotech
- Support inward investment
- Promote science excellence from Wales