Agenda
Day 1 | Tuesday 10 March 2026
10.00 - 10.50 Morning Plenary
10.50 - 11.50 Session 1 Rebuilding tomorrow's world with biology
This session will explore how we can make everyday items - from cosmetics to concrete - using biology rather than fossil resources.
Chair: Fiona Mischel, Associate Director of Strategic Development, Holiferm
Speakers:
Russ Tucker, CEO, TWIG Bio, ‘Using AI to bring biotech to beauty’
Jonathan Edmunds, Sustainability Director, ‘Bio-based plastic that’s high on performance, and negative on carbon’
James MacDonald, CEO, Solena Materials ‘Next generation sustainable fibres for market-leading apparel’
Alex Neves, CEO, Clean Food Group ‘Function-specific, sustainable oils and fats, from food waste’
11.50 - 12.15 Fireside Chat
Getting novel bio-based products to market.
12.15 - 12.35 Tomorrow’s World Showcase Pitches
Katherine Manshreck, Senior Sustainability Strategist, Shellworks, ‘Made with plants, not plastic: innovation that looks good and does good’
Prantar Mahanta Tamuli, Founder, Tattva ‘Built by Biology. Bioengineered materials for construction, automotive, farming and space industries’
12.35 - 14.00 Networking lunch and poster observation
14.00 - 15.00 Session 2 Feeding the future with biotechnology
This session will look at the factors influencing the adoption of alternative protein.
Chair: Imran Afzal, CEO, NAPIC
Speakers:
Derek Stewart, The James Hutton Institute
15.00 - 15.30 Session 3 Launchpad for Success
This session will take a look at the impact of the UKRI Innovate UK Launchpad programme and the Net Zero projects it has supported.
Chair: TBC
Speakers:
Alisha Fuller-Armah, BlazeBalm
15.30 - 16.00 Coffee break
16.00 - 16.55 Session 4 Tomorrow’s healthy planet
Who's in the loop? - Water is the lifeblood of the circular economy and this session will focus on how it sits in a continuous renewal with waste, soil and ecosystems.
Chair: Professor Frederic Coulson, Director, EBIC
Speakers:
Elise Cartmell, Chief Scientist, Scottish Water
Pete Vale, Carbon & Circular Economy Architect, Severn Trent
16.55 - 17.15 Day 1 wrap up and prizegiving
Day 2 | Wednesday 11 March 2026
10.00 - 10.45 Morning Plenary
Scott Winston, MD, Pulpex, ‘From Concept to Consumer: Reimagining Packaging — The Pulpex Way’
Holly Reeves, CEO, HydRegen, ‘From Breakthrough to Scale-Up: The HydRegen Story’
11.00 - 12.30 Session 5 Workshops
Choose from an exciting offering of workshops and get useful know-how, insights, and engage and contribute to the discussion.
12.30 - 13.30 Networking lunch
13.30 - 14.30 Session 6 The Bio Factor
Channel your inner Simon Cowell and rate our line up of exciting start up pitches. If you dare, sign up to be on the stage. Prizes available!
14.30 - 15.10 Session 7 What’s next for tomorrow’s world?
We have come a long way with biotechnology, but there's so much more out there. From the ocean depths to distant stars, where will biology take us next?
Chair: Lord David Willets
15.10 - 15.30 Conference wrap up and close