The Natural Products BioHUB at Swansea University has won the Impact of Collaboration/Partnership on Industrial Transformation Award at the Swansea University Research & Innovation Awards 2026, and we could not be prouder of our friends and research partners.
What the award recognises
The BioHUB's award-winning poster shows how it brings together academic expertise, innovators, civic partners such as Business Wales and funding to accelerate sustainable growth. At the heart of the submission is the BioHUB's collaboration with BIOVIT, which showcases our circular innovation model and mindset.
The award, presented by Swansea University, recognises the power of collaboration to turn research into industrial impact.
The BioHUB in numbers
The BioHUB’s track record shows what collaboration can deliver.
- £29.9m in collaborative funding applications supported
- £11.4m in industry co-investment
- 38 collaborative R&D projects
- 200+ industry partners engaged
Figures as announced by the Natural Products BioHUB.
Our circular work with the BioHUB
BIOVIT recovers natural vitamins and minerals that are lost during food processing, with initial research showing that up to 60% of the vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetable material can be lost. Recovering them and reintegrating them as plant-derived, clean-label ingredients is the heart of our circular model.
We currently run two live circularity research projects with Swansea University’s Natural Products BioHUB, funded separately and targeting different feedstocks.
Circular Vitamin C
Recovering natural Vitamin C from apple pomace, the waste left over from juice and cider production. Funded by Innovate UK.
Circular micronutrient recovery (Welsh wastes)
Researching the recovery of iodine, copper, iron and selenium from seaweed and kelp, spent coffee grounds and rapeseed cake. Funded by the Welsh Government (SMART FIS).
The Circular Vitamin C project also supports our move towards natural vitamin extracts produced wholly within Wales. Read the full detail on our circularity page.
Why collaboration matters
University research and industry need each other. The BioHUB gives companies like BIOVIT access to scientific expertise, specialist facilities and funding routes that a growing business could not build alone, while giving researchers a clear route from the lab to the market.
That is what turns research into impact, and it is how we deliver BETTER FOOD FOR ALL.
Thank you and congratulations
Congratulations to the entire BioHUB team, and thank you to the collaborators, industry partners and funders behind its work, particularly UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), CABI, the Scottish Association for Marine Science and the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa. Thank you also to Business Wales for its role as a civic partner.
Thank you to Swansea University for recognising the impact of collaborative research, and congratulations to all the finalists and winners at the 2026 Research & Innovation Awards.
Do you have a waste stream?
If your process generates fruit, vegetable or food-processing by-products, we would like to hear from you. Get in touch to talk through a sidestream assessment, or explore our circularity page.
