UK’s BBSRC, Brazil’s FAPESP launch joint funding call for advanced biofuels

BBSRC, together with the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), have launched a joint funding call in the strategic priority area of Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (IBBE).

BBSRC is the lead funding agency for academic research and training in the biosciences at universities and institutes throughout the UK, and was established by Royal Charter in 1994 by incorporation of the former Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) with the biotechnology and biological sciences programmes of the former Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC).  São Paulo Research Foundation[1] (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) is a public foundation located in São Paulo, Brazil, with the aim of providing grants, funds and programs to support research, education and innovation of private and public institutions and companies in the state of São Paulo.

The groups said: “We aim to advance the excellent scientific relationships developed between UK and Brazilian scientists and encourage new partnerships to develop integrated biorefinery approaches for the manufacture of advanced biofuels, producing industrially relevant scientific outputs which can be taken up by a global industry.”

Joint UK-Brazil projects of significant scale, and up to 5 years duration, are encouraged to address challenges such as:

•Enzyme design and development

•Control and/or optimization feedstock attributes

•Development of novel high-yielding fermentative organisms

UK applicants must submit the ‘Intention to submit’ form to the BBSRC office by 26 October 2015. Th final application deadline is 19 November 2015

More on the story from the FAPESP website here.