Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has invested AUD 18 million (approx. $11.8 million) into its Mackay-based QUT Pioneer BioPilot, an upgraded, pilot-scale fermentation and biomanufacturing facility.

Supported by funding from the Australian and Queensland governments, and in association with Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA), the QUT Pioneer BioPilot has been transformed into a food-grade fermentation facility in line with the university’s ambitions to become an Asia-Pacific biomanufacturing hub.

The upgrade aims to empower innovative companies to work with QUT researchers on creating new types of food and other bioproducts offering dietary alternatives and sustainable solutions to agricultural challenges.

The QUT Pioneer BioPilot was formerly known as the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant. QUT Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy researcher Ian O’Hara said that the plant has played a crucial role for industry over the past 15 years in the real-world translation of research, converting biomass such as sugarcane biogases into biofuels, green chemicals and bioproducts.

A key feature of the upgrade was the installation of advanced fermentation bioreactors, enabling companies to fast-track product development in the food and beverage sector.

O’ Hara commented: “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. No one else can provide the capability we are offering Australian industries through the QUT Pioneer BioPilot.”

He added: “The feedstocks we are developing for this process are diverse, but the sugarcane industry is the key driver for much of this work. This puts Queensland, which has 95% of Australia’s cane industry, at the heart of this area of innovation and opportunity.”

The upgraded plant also opens new capabilities in precision fermentation, an advanced fermentation method being utilised to develop new, sustainable food ingredients such as alternative proteins and fats.

“The advantages of precision fermentation are that it can lead to new food products and ingredients that supplement production through traditional methods, providing sustainability benefits and increasing consumer choice,” O’Hara said.

Using the QUT Pioneer BioPilot, researchers are partnering with food-tech start-up Eclipse Ingredients and other institutions in an AUD 5.5 million (approx. $3.6 million) project to commercialise precision fermented human lactoferrin – a powerful protein found in breast milk and immune cells with immune-boosting, iron-enhancing and anti-inflammatory properties.

Chris Downs, FaBA director, said: “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”.