Comms Chief visits University’s pioneering Enzyme Centre
Government Communications Chief Alex Aiken has visited the University of Portsmouth to learn about a ground-breaking project that aims to tackle the global plastic pollution crisis through enzyme solutions.
Mr Aiken was briefed by Professor John McGeehan, director of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation.
The project received £1m last year as part of the Government’s ‘Getting Building fund’, awarded by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.
During his tour, Mr Aiken claimed that the technology is “genuinely world-leading, and possibly world-saving, in the way that it will help us in the fight against waste.”
The research will help lead Boris Johnson one step closer to his goal of keeping rising global temperatures below 1.5%. The Prime Minister will address his plans to tackle climate change in Glasgow at the COP26 Climate Summit, starting on October 31.
Professor McGeehan and his team are currently in talks with “some quite famous fizzy drink manufacturers, who are very interested in the technology” and hope to make an announcement within the next few weeks.
He said: “At the University of Portsmouth we do fantastic, world-class science, but we need that industrial support to scale things up and that’s just starting to happen, so watch this space.”
During his visit, Mr Aiken also visited Portsmouth City Council, the Royal Navy’s communications team, and delivered a speech on board the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales as part of the Pacific Future Forum.
