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Reference Number EP/Y031881/1
Title Yeast-based solutions for sustainable Aviation Fuels (YAF)
Status Started
Energy Categories Renewable Energy Sources (Bio-Energy, Production of transport biofuels (incl. Production from wastes)) 100%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr R Ledesma Amaro

Dept of Bioengineering
Imperial College London
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 01 December 2023
End Date 30 November 2027
Duration 48 months
Total Grant Value £521,352
Industrial Sectors
Region London
Programme UKRI MSCA
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr R Ledesma Amaro , Dept of Bioengineering, Imperial College London (100.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are the only short-term alternative to fossil fuels in aviation. Considering the increased number of passengers forecasted in the near future, a massive increased in SAF production has been estimated in the years to come. To fulfill this increase in demand, the combination of existing and new renewable production chains is needed. Current SAF-producing pathways are at different levels of maturity, implementation or even commercialization. However, lowering the cost and supply chain development are key challenges for commercial-scale SAF deployment. Using biowastes as feedstock for SAF is challenging but necessary to make SAF competitive with fossil fuels. In this context, yeasts may be key players to generate economically-viable SAF intermediates (terpenes or fatty acids (FA)) in an environmentally-friendly way from biowaste. This SAF production by biological means is very new and presents a lot of remaining challenges and training gaps that have to be addressed. YAF research programme aims at; i) producing carbon sources from biowastes, ii) developing new yeast cell factories to produce SAF, iii) designing new bifunctional catalysts, iv) achieving efficient strategies for FA/terpenes extraction, and v) creating robust framework tailored to the scaling-up methodologies and life-cycle sustainability assessment of different SAF producing routes, which will support decisionmaking. To achieve this, the right integration of biology, biotechnology, chemical engineering and environmental sciences will be required. Thus, the prime training/networking aim of YAF is to train the next generation of researchers in a highly interdisciplinary and intersectorial research environment such that they can soundly address upcoming challenges concerning production yeast based SAF. YAF has been designed to strengthen European research and innovation, enhancing research visibility and generating a critical mass to address European (and global) challenge
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Added to Database 20/09/23