Scottish National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology: The Development Path Towards 2030

Key Chapter Title List

1. Preface
2. Introduction
3. Vision
4. Policy and Public Engagement
5. Industry Collaboration
6. Innovation
7. Talent Development
8. Biorefining
9. Conclusion

Document Introduction

The Scottish Economic Strategy prioritizes expanding investment and innovation, aiming to build a strong, vibrant, and sustainable economic system. Industrial biotechnology, as a key engine for enhancing prosperity through "green" growth, holds transformative potential for achieving this goal. This plan is an update and continuation of Scotland's 2013 National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology. Its core objective is to achieve over 200 companies in this sector with a turnover of £900 million by 2025, driving the bioeconomy towards maturity, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon future.

The plan initially set four core themes: industry collaboration, biorefining, talent development, and innovation. As implementation progressed, content related to "public awareness" was added, forming five key pillars: policy and public engagement, industry collaboration, innovation, talent development, and biorefining. This aligns closely with the UK Bioeconomy Strategy published in December 2018. Since 2013, the plan's implementation has achieved significant results: the number of related companies increased from 43 to 111, turnover grew from £189 million to £357 million, and 170 new jobs were created; the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) was established, supporting 48 industry-academia-research collaboration projects, training 52 PhD and 94 Master's graduates, and attracting substantial investment from both public and private sectors.

Each core theme has defined its mission and subsequent action pathways. The policy and public engagement theme focuses on enhancing public awareness of the bioeconomy, optimizing the regulatory environment, and improving relevant policies and regulations. The industry collaboration theme is dedicated to unlocking the potential of local enterprises, attracting foreign investment, and building new value chains. The innovation theme accelerates the commercialization of biotechnology by establishing collaboration networks, providing funding support, and building technology centers. The talent development theme aims to build a workforce of 2,500 people by 2025, specifically addressing shortages in technical personnel and interdisciplinary talents. The biorefining theme promotes the development of biorefining clusters and supply chain construction around six resource streams, including whisky by-products, marine biomass, and agricultural biomass.

Based on Scotland's core strengths in scientific research capabilities, a highly skilled workforce, and renewable energy, this plan leverages multi-stakeholder collaboration. It not only provides a clear blueprint for the development of the industrial biotechnology industry but will also help Scotland consolidate its world-leading position in the circular economy, achieving synergistic progress in economic development and environmental protection. It serves as a replicable regional practice example for the global bioeconomy transition.