Mackay’s QUT Pioneer BioPilot fermentation station gets $18 million upgrade

QUT has launched an upgrade to its Mackay-based Pioneer BioPilot, which it says has made the facility into the nation’s top pilot-scale fermentation facility.

The $18 million investment in the QUT Pioneer BioPilot included support from the federal and state governments and the Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA), and will “empower innovative companies” to work with researchers on “new types of food and other bioproducts”, the university said on Friday.

Pioneer, formerly known as the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant (MRBPP), has been important for translating research into industry for the last 15 years, said QUT Professor Ian O’Hara. 

Work had included upcycling biomass such as sugarcane waste into biofuels, green chemicals and bioproducts.

“Real-world impact is at the heart of QUT’s research commitment, where knowledge and innovation tackle global challenges and deliver locally grounded solutions,” said O’Hara.

O’Hara said that a diverse set of feedstocks were being used, but the sugarcane industry “is the key driver for much of this work” in biomanufacturing. 

Queensland contains approximately 95 per cent of Australia’s cane industry.

Sugar cane bagasse ready for processing, inside the QUT Pioneer BioPilot, Mackay.

A key feature of the facility is the fermentation bioreactors, said O’Hara, with these allowing companies to fast-track product development in the food and beverage sector.

“Precision fermentation is a technology that allows us to convert sugars into a range of other food ingredients and products in brewery-style fermentation tanks.

“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.”

The release cites the predicted fast growth of the global bioeconomy, predicting it will rise from $US 4 trillion currently to $US 30 trillion by 2050, according to the World Bioeconomy Forum.

Queensland assistant primary industry minister Sean Dillon added: “The upgraded MRBPP gives local researchers and industry the tools to turn biomass into high-value products – right here in Mackay.

“It’s a powerful demonstration of how regional Queensland is open for business, strongly appealing to companies looking to use sugar feedstocks for their products.”

Pictures: supplied

Further reading

Mackay R&D site to get precision fermentation as part of $16 million upgrade

Australian sugar manufacturing sector grows to $3.9 billion

Precision fermentation potentially “transformative” for industry, says FaBA