Global Centers
CO2-IMPACT is involved in two International Global Centers focused on advancing sustainable biotechnology and biomanufacturing, with strong Finnish participation supported by Business Finland co-innovation funding.
1) Global Center for Sustainable Bioproducts (GCSB)
Coordinated by the University of Tennessee, this center focuses on developing environmentally and economically sustainable bio-based alternatives to petroleum-derived materials. The goal is to convert waste biomass into bioplastics and bio-derived composites that can replace conventional plastics. The effort brings together an international consortium spanning the US, Canada, Finland, Japan, Korea, and the UK.
Key Finnish involvement:
- Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU) and the University of Turku (UTU) recently joined at full project level (GCSB-CirBReS, 2026-2029) through Business Finland co-innovation funding.
2) Global Center for Biofoundry Applications (GCBA)
This initiative connects seven leading biofoundries across five countries to standardize and scale synthetic biology workflows.
The Global Center for Biofoundry Applications is coordinated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (iBioFAB) that unites major biofoundries across North America, Europe, and Asia to establish shared standards, metrics, and workflows for synthetic biology. The center integrates leading platforms including the Agile BioFoundry (US DOE), the Living Measurement Systems Foundry (NIST, US), the London Biofoundry (Imperial College London), the Kobe Biofoundry (Kobe University), and the KRIBB Biofoundry (Korea), alongside additional international partners.
The focus is on making genetic design more predictable, reproducible, and scalable to enable applications in climate solutions, sustainable manufacturing, and advanced bioproduction.
Key Finnish involvement:
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland participates via the FinBioFAB project, funded by Business Finland.