Research Activities

(Arabidopsis thaliana seedling showing (red stain) lignin deposition in leaves following inhibition of cellulose biosynthesis)

Research at the Porter Alliance is guided by the following principles:
• Research management that produces economically, environmentally and socially sustainable solutions
• Integration of research through the entire chain of process steps to find optimal solutions in a timely fashion
• Collaborative partnership with industry to accelerate research and development and deliver integrated systems into the market place. 

The high level challenges which drive our research and development programme are:
1. To increase energy biomass yields
2. To reduce environmental and ecological threats to and from energy biomass
3. To increase processable carbon by manipulating biomass characteristics
4. To create optimised biotechnological and hybrid bio/chemotechnological routes to lignocellulosic processing
5. To invent a flexible, modular biorefinery able to convert a wide variety of feedstocks
6. To create integrated delivery pipelines to new biofuels, taking us from current to future energy biomass feedstocks and engine design
7. To invent synthetic processes to manufacture novel chemicals and materials within the biorefinery
8. To invent new tools and technologies which support these activities
9. To develop a sustainability toolkit which enables us to integrate, guide and manage our research programme

Porter Alliance Research