Funding received to support Yorkshire’s bioeconomy innovations
The Biorenewables Development Centre has been awarded additional funding of £0.5M to drive the growth of the emerging bioeconomy sector. The BDC will be supporting businesses that deliver innovative products, processes or services related to renewable, biological resources as part of the Bioeconomy Growth Programme. The funding has been received from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The BDC is now able to offer 36 pre-funded projects for eligible businesses in our area by 2022.

Bioeconomy and SMEs
The production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, energy, chemicals and other materials is referred to as the bioeconomy.
The Yorkshire region has a large and thriving bioeconomy. A Government-commissioned Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) of the bioeconomy in the north of England revealed there are over 16,000 bioeconomy related companies in the north of England, with a total annual turnover of over £91 billion, employing around 415,000 people. The UK’s bioeconomy is estimated to be worth £220 billion gross value added (GVA) and the Government’s recently published bioeconomy strategy has set ambitious targets to double its size by 2030.
To receive the new support, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must be located in the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding region.
This follows on from the BDC’s previous popular business support programmes which have helped more than 300 local SMEs since 2012 and this funding will complement current support that has been already offered to Leeds City Region SMEs since 2019. Examples of previous assists delivered by the BDC range from lab-based optimisation of anaerobic digestion, plant growth trials, and product shelf-life assessment to desk-based and consultancy work on food waste valorisation.
Joe Ross, Director at the Biorenewables Development Centre said:
“We are delighted, through this new ERDF award, to be able to continue to offer support to bioeconomy businesses across the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding area. The bioeconomy represents an important part of the region’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, and create an innovative and sustainable economy across the North of England. The BDC has the facilities and expertise to provide businesses with the help they need to develop new bio-based processes and products and this ERDF award provides the resources needed to make this happen.”
Get in touch
Sound interesting? To discuss further how the funding can help your business, please contact Dr Tom North, Business Development Unit Manager.
01904 328056 tom.north@york.ac.uk
Articles
Help is one call away: how the Growth Hub helpdesk can support you
Are you thinking about starting, growing, or scaling your business? Hear about how the Growth Hub helpdesk can help you by providing the latest business support, tailored to your needs.
New support for York and North Yorkshire businesses as leading regional media figure joins the Growth Hub
Mike Pennington, a familiar name in the UK media industry, has recently joined the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub as a Business Relationship Manager. In 2023, he'll be bringing his expertise to businesses in our region and connecting them with the Made Smarter scheme.
York, North Yorkshire and East Riding employers urged not to miss out on free skills training
Employers across York, North Yorkshire and East Riding are being reminded that it’s their last chance to take advantage of free training and support through the Skills Support for the Workforce Programme before the it ends in March 2023.
Events
15th February 20239:00 am - 5:00 pmFREE
15 Feb - Harrogate Co-Lab: Business Support Drop-In Session
This free drop-in service based in Harrogate can help answer your questions and direct you to relevant business support, resources and programmes.
22nd February 20239:00 am - 4:30 pmFREE
22 Feb - Pitching Perfectly - To win new business
Are you a small to medium sized food or drink business that wants to win more business and need to plan the perfect pitch? This full day workshop will help you understand what buyers are looking for and give you the confidence to pitch to them.
01st March 20234:00 pm - 6:00 pmFREE
1 March - Ian Howard- The Enterprise Growth Roadmap
In this two-hour session, Ian Howard will introduce The Enterprise Growth Roadmap. Regardless of where you are at right now, whether you are just launching your business, trying to make sense of the number of opportunities available to you or looking to attract external investment, the Enterprise Growth Roadmap Planning Workshop will help you create a framework to develop your own growth strategy together with some simple steps to help you implement it.
Resources
Glossary of Climate Change Terms for Businesses
A free digital glossary defining the key climate change terms relevant to businesses, to help you understand and engage with sustainability resources and support.
2022 Seminar Recordings
We have recently hosted a programme of in-person seminars and other events, some of which were professionally recorded and can now be viewed on our website.
Seminar Recording : Access to finance: Funding growth
This workshop will provide guidance on cost based pricing, calculating your costs before deciding an appropriate margin, as well as covering market based pricing asking questions such as: What value do you add? What are you worth? How do you position yourself?