Bioscope Technologies, Cambridge, scooped the hotly contested Net Zero Innovator of the Year category at last Friday’s The Technology Supply Chain Innovation Awards held in Birmingham.
This follows the bioleaching research and development work undertaken by Bioscope which was formed two years ago. The biotech bacteria-based solution replaces traditional treatments that use high-temperature and chemical recovery and is as close to zero-emission as possible, without offsetting. Bioscope is now accelerating the bioleaching development to an industrial level, ensuring precious metals such as copper, gold, silver and palladium and other materials – including those in finite or limited supply – are sustainably recovered and returned into the manufacturing supply chain.
“We are thrilled to receive this year’s Net Zero Innovator award which caps off an exciting year for the company,” said Jeff Borrman, CEO, Bioscope Technologies. “We have continued to develop our bioleaching processes, encompassing the sustainable extraction of an increasing number of precious and base metals from PCBs, while also readying our sustainable PCB metals bio-refining plant to meet the accelerating PCB materials recovery requirements of our customers at industrial scale.”
He added: “The known and unknown quantities of PCBs present a huge opportunity for Bioscope, including to support the UK government in patriating and repatriating the millions of pounds worth of valuable materials going to waste. As just one example, it’s estimated that 25 million mobile phones are discarded in the UK each year – recycling one million mobile phones can recover 16,000kg of copper,350kg of silver, 34kg of gold and 15kg of palladium.”
The annual Innovation Awards recognise, celebrate and reward the businesses, organisations and individuals who are dedicated to innovation. Having made the initial shortlist a public vote secured Bioscope’s place on the list of finalists. Following a final interview by the judging panel, Bioscope won the day in recognition of its ongoing bacteria bioleaching development work and industrial scale sustainable refining of strategic metals from printed circuit board (PCB) e-waste.
