Small Bioreactor, Big Climate Wins
Microbiology is a powerhouse of innovation, and a surprising source of single use plastic and electronic equipment waste. OGI Biotec is changing that with the OGI3: a compact, modular bioreactor that cuts down on single-use plastic and simplifies advanced microbial analysis. It’s lab equipment redesigned for the circular economy -empowering researchers to speed up discovery while shrinking their environmental footprint.
Product description
The OGI3 modular bioreactor provides the measurement and control that companies and researchers working in microbiology need to grow, measure and control their microbial cultures. Lab-scale bioreactors are used to optimise biological processes like fermentation, to study cell growth or to evaluate genetic modifications. OGI biotec’s flexible systems fit directly to the users’ experimental needs, enabling them to measure and control the parameters they need to accelerate their development and innovation and produce the products and ground-breaking science needed to tackle some of the largest global challenges.
Innovation Factsheet
OGI3
TRL 9: proven in operation
Biotechnology & Life sciences
Problem
Plastic waste from laboratories such as microbiology labs is an overlooked problem. From pipette tips to well plates, single use plastic has become the status quo to avoid contaminations from other microbial cultures or chemicals.
At the same time, machines for microbial growth and analysis that have automation features, such as automated fluorescent measurements, are complex and expensive. They are big machines with a large range of technically demanding features.
Solution
OGI Biotec offers a modular growth and analysis machine, so a lab only needs to buy the measurement and control features they really need. This can include sensors for fluorescence, dissolved oxygen, optical density, temperature and pH and liquid or gas control, all purchasable per four reactor vessels.
The base unit has four reactor vessels, which are made out of reusable glass and silicon instead of plastic. This means all parts of the system that touch the customer's organism can be autoclaved to ensure sterility, reducing the amount of single-use plastic.
A subscription model ensures the devices come back at the end of their life. After its first use life, which in the forecast is conservatively assumed to be 3 years, OGI Biotec can remanufacture the device, aided by its modular structure. This solution addresses the single-use plastic waste and e-waste problems as well as high upfront costs, making environmentally efficient bioreaction experiments more accessible than ever before.
OGI Biotec offers a modular growth and analysis machine, so a lab only needs to buy the measurement and control features they really need.
Impact
The Climate Impact Forecast shows that the OGI3 system could reduce CO₂ emissions by 276t CO₂eq/ year, based on the sale of 5000 devices. This is similar to the climate impact electricity for 50 EU households. Most of the positive impacts relate to the decreased use and wastage of electronic components.
The CIF or Climate Impact Forecast enables OGI biotec to quantify the climate impact of its products. Their forecast, validated by an impartial impact expert, shows that the reduction in single-use plastics results in lower emissions, but the bulk of the emission reductions are due to the reduced need for electronic components, due to the device’s small footprint, modular design and remanufacture operations.
Furthermore, the system enables customers to more accurately identify optimal growth conditions of their cultures at far smaller volumes than currently possible. This reduces the number of experiments required to understand the optimal conditions of growth for larger scales and the volume of media required to make an accurate measurement. Which means that new bioreaction products can be made more quickly and more cost-effectively, accelerating the development of novel products to positively impact the climate crisis
Validation details
Equivalents
The programme
The impact assessment work referred to above, was done as part of the Scottish Enterprise Product Carbon Savings Estimation programme. This initiative equips Scottish companies -working on impact innovations- with Impact Forecast tools and expert services to integrate impact insights in the innovation process.
“Participating in the Scottish Enterprise Product Carbon Impact Programme has provided us with the tools and data to show how our systems can impact positively in a like for like comparison to other technologies.”
About OGI biotec
OGI Biotec is startup from Edinburg, Scotland, bringing the OGI3 to market. OGI Biotec's mission is to accelerate the development of products that will positively impact society in the race against climate emergency.
Contact OGI biotec
To discover the modules of the OGI3 and check out their specs, visit ogibiotec.com/products
Contact Scottish Enterprise
Scottish companies looking for support in assessing their positive climate impact can find out how to join the Product Carbon Savings Estimation programme at scottish-enterprise.com
Company Factsheet
| Name | OGI biotec |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| FTE | 10 |