KTH involved in major investment in biotechnology
One of the largest research grants ever in Scandinavia, according to Mathias Uhlén, one of the three people in charge. A Nordic research centre is now to be created with nearly one billion Swedish crowns in its budget.
It is the Danish Novo Nordisk Foundation that is providing the Danish Institute of Technology, KTH and Chalmers with SEK 850 million for a joint research centre with a focus on bio energy and renewable resources.
According to Björn Renberg, researcher at KTH in nano biotechnology, and site manager for the KTH unit, this joint effort will generate very exciting research. Moreover, it means that there will be a greater chance of success because there are so many strong players involved.
“We will be conducting research on making the process of producing bio fuels such as ethanol and butanol more efficient so that they will be more easily accepted as an alternative to petroleum-based fuels,” says Björn Renberg.
He adds that the research will also identify ways to produce chemicals in a sustainable manner in terms of resources and the environment by using microorganisms, such as common baker’s yeast and bacteria, instead of petroleum-based raw materials.
It is necessary, as the remaining estimated amount of oil today is about 1300 billion barrels (a barrel is 160 litres), and consumption is a staggering 30 billion barrels per year. Consumption is steadily increasing especially in China and India, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. An alternative to oil is therefore needed both to reduce emissions, and to find a replacement for oil as a fuel.
“The research being carried out at this research centre is an important step towards replacing oil with microorganisms, such as yeast and bacteria,” says Björn Renberg.
Peter Gudmundson, President of KTH, believes that the budget has been allocated to a very exciting area that has considerable potential.
“The research grant signifies an intensification of energy research at KTH. But it is also a further step towards a sustainable society,” says Peter Gudmundson.
The research centre will be managed internationally by Professor Bernhard Palsson, who comes from the University of California, San Diego, USA. He is an internationally recognized research with an impressive academic history with many publications and patents, and is also known as a talented research leader.
Research areas such as molecular biology, mathematical modelling, bioinformatics and fermentation technology will be included at the research centre. The headquarters of the new centre will be Denmark’s Technical University and satellite centres will be set up at KTH and Chalmers.
For more information, contact Björn Renberg on 08 - 55 37 88 32 or bjornr@biotech.kth.se.
Peter Larsson