Pioneer Group accelerates support for start-ups tackling human and planetary health challenges

Recent research indicates that the rate of global warming caused by human activity is at an all-time high. In response, Pioneer Group, a specialist in life science infrastructure and venture building, is ramping up its support for start-up businesses tackling planetary health challenges.

This year, Pioneer is accelerating the development of planetary health innovations through a comprehensive programme of events, a “Golden Ticket” competition, venture development support, specialist lab space, and access to its expert network.

“With global temperatures on the rise, supporting innovations that address key planetary health challenges is more crucial than ever,” says Toby Reid, Executive Director of Pioneer Group. “Our programmes and incubation spaces are designed to support clean and green tech companies as they work to transform industrial practices and mitigate human impact on the planet.

“We aim to create optimal environments for these companies to focus on their scientific endeavours. Sites like the Wilton Centre, MediCity, and Kent Science Park serve as ideal bases for leading-edge innovators.”

Pioneer is hosting a series of science events across two of its sites – Wilton Centre in the North East, and Kent Science Park in the South East – as well as online. These events bring together scientists, academics, and industry experts to discuss solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in planetary health.

The Pioneer Presents Planetary Health events series, explores challenges relating to three core themes – human health in a changing climate, the circular carbon economy, and sustainable food systems. Jen Vanderhoven, Programme Manager of Pioneer Presents says: “Pioneer Group has many fantastic life sciences and incubators across the country and is home to numerous companies working in the planetary health space. It is fantastic to bring everyone together at events like these to exchange ideas.”

In April 2024, Pioneer partnered with CPI on a “Golden Ticket” programme designed to recognise innovations in planetary health. The 2024 Golden Ticket programme focused on hydrogen and climate technology companies that are innovating solutions to these planetary health challenges and was backed by funding from the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII).

Following a competitive pitching and judging process, HydRegen, a spin-out from the University of Oxford, was selected as the winner of the programme. The company will receive 12 months of venture development support with Pioneer, use of incubation space at Pioneer’s Wilton Centre, and ongoing, bespoke scale-up and innovation support with CPI.

HydRegen is a biotechnology company that enables more sustainable chemical synthesis and manufacturing by replacing toxic, heavy-metal catalysts in chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing, utilising hydrogen as a feedstock within its processes.

Meanwhile, at Pioneer’s MediCity site in Nottingham, clean-tech start-up Pipeline Organics has secured a £630,000 grant from Innovate UK through its Investor Partnerships programme. This funding will accelerate the development of its next generation fuel cell technology, TankArc. The came alongside equity investment, led by Coca Cola Europacific Partners, bringing the total amount raised by the pre-seed-stage company to £1.5m. This will help Pipeline Organics work towards delivering cleaner, cheaper, more reliable renewable energy from industrial wastewater.

Commenting on the grant, Andrew Raslan, Pipeline Organics’ Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer says:

This Innovate UK funding will enable us to expedite our company’s development into a scale-up with a prototype technology and will be critical in ensuring our innovation breaks out of the lab and into industry operations by 2026. We are on a mission to decarbonise industry and decentralise clean energy access worldwide, starting with the food and beverage sector, which produces roughly 25-30% of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Pipeline Organics started as an idea between its four co-founders at the Ingenuity Centre at the University of Nottingham, where they won its Young Entrepreneurship Scheme 2020 (YES20) competition and were later recognised as National Climate Champions in its Ingenuity Impact competition (2023).

Previously based at Pioneer’s BioCity, Pipeline Organics moved to MediCity in March 2024, taking up larger laboratory facilities to accommodate its research and development work.

“Moving into MediCity was an easy decision for us,” Eric Lehder, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer, explains:

The laboratories at BioCity and MediCity Nottingham have allowed us to bring our revolutionary clean energy concept to life. Equipped with all the necessary facilities for our R&D work, the labs have been vital for the rapid development of our technology in these past years. Pioneer Group has a strong reputation for hosting some of the most visionary life sciences and innovation companies in the country and we are grateful for its support.