Case studies
Algal technologies
Bio-based chemicals
Bio-based materials
Bioenergy and biofuels
Business development and entrepreneurship
Fashion, design and art
Food, health and wellbeing
Sustainable agriculture
Algal technologies case studies
Growing algae on the liquid digestate from anaerobic digestion (AD)
BioGroup Ltd, a Cambridgeshire-based company, was interested in using their AD liquid digestate as part of a growth medium for microalgae. The company had been looking for research and development partnerships to accelerate their progress. InCrops provided links to academic partners and facilitated the writing of collaborative funding bids for BioGroup. The company has now secured a CASE studentship with InCrops partner, the Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge, and has been included in the EnAlgae project, unlocking €120k of European funding for the company.
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Bio-oils from algae
Pursuit Dynamics PLC is a technology company based in Cambridgeshire. They were interested in developing a new process for extracting bio-oils from algae and wished to carry out more detailed analysis of their samples without having to buy the necessary expensive equipment. InCrops has linked the company with algal experts and analytical facilities. Introduction to the University of Cranfield enabled the company to source initial algae material for trials, and obtain advice on equipment. InCrops also linked them to the equipment facilities at Cambridge, which has enabled them to access high-tech analytical equipment. The company is now a stakeholder of the EnAlgae Project.
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Bio-based chemicals case studies
New uses for essential oils
Barrier Biotech Ltd manufactures products for animal healthcare based on plant-derived active ingredients. Their product range includes herbicides based on plant-oil formulations, and they wanted to expand by developing nematicides. InCrops supported Barrier Biotech in a successful grant application for funding from the ‘Novel approaches for crop protection’ call from the Technology Strategy. InCrops also facilitated their collaboration with the John Innes Centre and Syngenta. This support has enabled them to begin researching and developing their ideas.
Tomatoes for skin care
BioDeb UK is based in Essex and manufactures cosmetics and toiletries. The company was interested in developing anti-ageing and anti-pigmentation skin care products that utilise bioactive compounds from plants. InCrops facilitated an introduction to experts at the John Innes Centre and supported BioDeb UK to gain a successful SPARK Award of £5,000 to put towards developing new skincare products which utilise the antioxidant properties of tomato extracts.
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Bio-based materials case studies
Environmentally friendly packaging
Norfolk farmer, Richard Wright, identified an opportunity to develop new, environmentally friendly packaging from plant-derived materials. We supported Richard to access Proof of Market funding of £5,000 from the UK Government and the EU, which enabled him to carry out product development, identify market entry strategies and analyse the environmental impact of his products. Following our support, Richard set up Leavs Ltd which sells attractive and bespoke packaging made of plant and crop-derived materials. The products have high recycled and waste product content, and are used for packing decorative glassware, gifts, perfumery, electronics and even the transport of small animals.
Sustainable insulation
English Brothers is a Cambridgeshire firm that designs and manufactures timber frame kits. Their customers are increasingly demanding innovative construction products that offer good thermal values as well as low embodied carbon. English Brothers asked InCrops for a comparison of various products and their costs, thermal properties and availability. We produced a report comparing 10 insulation products as well as outlining various packages so that thermal values, costs and embodied carbon can be assessed depending on their clients’ needs.
Bioenergy and biofuels case studies
Adding value to a renewable energy business
GreenBurn Eco-Logs are a low-carbon solid fuel, made from rapeseed meal and straw, that provides up to twice the energy and three times the burn time of regular firewood. Suffolk-based manufacturer, Durrant Tobin LLP, wished to increase their market penetration in the East of England. The InCrops team helped the business to develop a Cambridge Venture Project with the Judge Business School. MBA students delivered an outstanding project for the clients, which included research on the positioning of the GreenBurn Eco-Logs compared to other solid biofuels products targeted at the residential market. The students made excellent recommendations on how to improve the product design, promotional messages and price positioning in order to attract customers.
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Market opportunities for slow pyrolysis in the UK
Mike Weaver is an investor in PYREG GmbH, a German company that manufactures slow pyrolysis systems that can be used to treat a range of biomass, from forestry residues and green waste to farm residues and sewage sludge. Mr Weaver needed help in assessing opportunities in different markets in order to introduce the technology to the UK. InCrops provided information on the opportunities and challenges for the commercialisation of biochar in the agricultural sector and secured WRAP funding to conduct a feasibility study on the case for PYREG’s systems in the anaerobic digestion sector. InCrops also facilitated introductions to potential users and academic partners, resulting in field trials with professional growers in the region and lab-based experiments with the University of East Anglia.
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Business development and entrepreneurship case study
Facilitating access to new clients
BASCK Ltd offers strategic Intellectual Property services to start-ups and small businesses. The specialist consultants had experience in a range of sectors, including low carbon energy, but wished to diversify, to tap into the emerging bioeconomy. InCrops assisted BASCK Ltd by sharing experience on working with regional Small and Medium Enterprises in the sector and by organising two specialist workshops to enable them to engage with potential clients. As a result, the company has secured new contracts.
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Fashion, design and art case studies
Sustainable luxury
A collaborative project between InCrops and the Faculty of Art Design & Architecture at Kingston University provided support to businesses involved in product design. Students used crop-derived renewable raw materials to create luxury fashion that has a low or zero carbon life cycle – from manufacture through to distribution and disposal. The work was showcased at a prestigious London event, and included futuristic fabrics and garments such as a pair of stilettos made from pistachio nuts and coffee beans. The event highlighted the design industry’s contribution to sustainable product development.
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Art and innovation
InCrops has developed a strong collaboration with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, with the integration of sustainable materials into artistic processes. This was achieved by linking five local artists to select businesses who produce bio-based materials. The artists designed and created an innovative piece of artwork using the bio-based materials produced by their partner company. This gave the businesses an opportunity to promote bio-based materials and products in a market they may not have explored before. It also created new applications for their materials, with potentially commercial outcomes. An excerpt of the Art and Innovation book is available here. You can also purchase the book via this page
The power of moss
Following interest from the design community in using biological systems, such as algae, we have been exploring future applications in the built environment. An emerging area of research is biophotovoltaics, whereby electrons are harvested from photosynthetic organisms to generate a current. Through the workshop series Living Designs, product design researchers at Kingston University have been collaborating with Moss Power, a Cambridge spin-out company, to look at flexible surfaces for biophotovoltaics.
Food, health and wellbeing case studies
The functional food, sea buckthorn
We helped three Essex-based businesses to establish agronomic and commercial trials of sea buckthorn, a recognised superfruit. The fruit can be used for juice, oil, nutraceutical and personal care products. We linked the companies with major international players in sea buckthorn agronomy, including the Lisavenko Research Institute in Russia, a leading organisation in sea buckthorn breeding. The three businesses have now established agronomic and commercial trials using Lisavenko’s elite varieties.
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The functional food, purple tomatoes
Norfolk Plant Sciences (NPS) has developed tomato plants that have elevated levels of polyphenols that give the fruit an attractive purple colour, but more importantly are active against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and age-related degenerative disease. InCrops worked with NPS and the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia to investigate the potential for purple tomato juice in the lucrative US market. The report generated included the results of bespoke market research, a survey of US consumer attitudes to GM health foods, juice consumption, the desirable properties of juice products and the price consumers are willing to pay for a health-enhanced product. NPS continues to work with InCrops in a variety of ways.
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Supporting a nutraceuticals and plant-derived medicine company
InCrops worked with Ampika, a medicinal plants business. The company operates in two areas of healthcare; development of nutraceuticals (dietary supplements and functional foods) for retail to consumers, and the discovery of plant-derived drugs for prescription use. InCrops supported Ampika’s successful application to become a student project offered by the Cambridge Judge Business School. This resulted in highly valuable information for Ampika, which led to a new business strategy for the company. Further InCrops facilitation has led to growth trials which form the basis for collaborative funding bids to take the company to the next stage
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Sustainable agriculture case studies
Improving the quality of hemp
Hemp is low input, fast growing and can adapt to most climatic and soil conditions. It is increasingly used in the automotive and construction industries. However, a key challenge in the hemp supply chain is the quality of the fibre, which is greatly influenced by the cutting method. InCrops liaised with Stephen Eyles, a local agricultural engineer, who designed a lightweight, tractor-trailed, low energy cutter able to cut stems to the required quality. Following funding from EEDA, the machine was built and put into operation. The result is that a number of InCrops’ clients now grow, process or utilise hemp.
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Overcoming pesticide resistance
Pesticide resistance is a major obstacle to the sustainable control of insect pests. ApresLabs Ltd has invaluable knowledge to help agri-biotech companies maximise the competitiveness and commercial life of their crop protection products. Working with Australian scientist, Dr Robin Gunning, Apreslabs’ Director, Dr Graham Moores, formulated the concept of ‘Temporal Synergism’, a system that can deliver outstanding control of resistant insects. InCrops helped Dr Moores to understand how to position and promote ApresLabs Ltd in an international industry and supported him in the transition from academia to industry. The company is involved in several consultancy projects and receiving more interest from prospective clients every week.
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Growing saffron in North Norfolk
Dr Sally Francis, the founder of Norfolk Saffron, had been successfully growing saffron for her own use for several years and wanted to scale-up production in order to set up a small business on under-utilised land at her family’s smallholding in north Norfolk. InCrops provided assistance with leveraging external funding for specialist machinery, design work and branding, expansion of the crop area, and the production of information for customer education. Norfolk Saffron is now a thriving business that grows and sells award-winning saffron, saffron-based products and runs workshops on using saffron in cooking and in textiles dyeing.
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