ELEMENTAL Engineering Biology Mission Hub

UK and US sign Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals - ELEMENTAL Critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements, are essential to modern manufacturing, from renewable energy systems to advanced electronics and electric vehicles. Reliable...

The UK & US have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals, a key step forward in securing resilient supply chains for the technologies of the future. This partnership follows the new CM Strategy published last November, #CriticalMinerals read more here shorturl.at/SZSv1

In January some of our Hub team participated in the first in a series of workshops featuring Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) & Scale-up. Participants built a foundational understanding of how to prepare for LCA & TEA. Keep an eye out for similar Hub member workshops available soon. #ElementalHub

We are excited to launch the 2nd round of Business Interaction Vouchers (BIVs) & now open for applications. They offer up to £50,000 to fund collaborative projects between UK-based companies & academic researchers in engineering biology for metal recovery #EngineeringBiology shorturl.at/ada4J

Reflecting on the Transcriptomics Analysis Pipeline Workshop- 10 February 2026 - ELEMENTAL Discover highlights from the University of York’s Transcriptomics Workshop. Learn RNA-seq workflows, data analysis, and pathway interpretation in a hands-on, expert-led session.

Last week Elemental PDRAs & PhD researchers & members gathered in York for the Transcriptomics Analysis Pipeline Workshop. This in‑person session offered a practical & collaborative environment to explore RNA‑sequencing data analysis. Read more at elementalhub.org/2026/02/12/t...

#ElementalHub

The Elemental team is at the Materials Research Exchange today at the Business Design Centre, London!

Looking forward to catching up with others in the sector and talking engineering biology, metal recovery, and mineral innovation.

#EngineeringBiology #MaterialsResearch #CriticalMinerals #MRE2026

Highlights from the Elemental Annual Meeting- York February 2026 - ELEMENTAL Highlights from Day One  The event kicked off with a warm welcome from Chair, Martin Warren, setting the context for the meeting and its goals. Attendees were introduced to the latest updates from BBS...

Our keen followers will have noted our Year 2 Annual Meeting posts last week. By bringing partners & stakeholders together, the meeting reinforced our shared goals, strengthened collaboration across work packages, & helped further develop our community. #ElementalHub elementalhub.org/2026/02/17/h...

Workshop: Intellectual Property Considerations for Engineering Biology Start‑ups - ELEMENTAL Navigating intellectual property (IP) strategy is critical for early‑stage engineering biology ventures, from protecting breakthrough innovations to attracting investors and avoiding costly disputes. ...

Places still available for our Intellectual Property Workshop on Thursday 12 March 2026 at 12:30 designed for members working at the forefront of #EngineeringBiology. Whether pre‑seed or scaling your biotech start‑up, this online workshop can help, book now elementalhub.org/2026/01/05/w...

What can top spending two days with some of my favourite engineering biologists at @elementalengbio.bsky.social annual meeting? Delivering an RRI and engagement session with the wonderful Emma Cook, Head of Engagement at UKRI-BBSRC

Group picture of delegation

That’s a wrap on the BBSRC ELEMENTAL Mission Hub Annual Meeting, where we celebrated our second year and mapped out plans for 2026.
Thanks must go to all our speakers and panellists for leading the event and our delegation for coming along. Also all at Hilton York! #EngineeringBiology

Picture of all delegates

That’s a wrap on the BBSRC ELEMENTAL Engineering Mission Hub Annual Meeting, where we celebrated our second year and mapped out plans for 2026.
Thanks must go to all our speakers and panellists for leading the event and our delegation for coming along. Also all at Hilton York! #EngineeringBiology

Following a collaborative poster session & dinner last night we have coasted into day 2 of our Yr2 meeting with a Co-I session challenging a panel sharing experience over a number of different areas. Career pathways & health & wellbeing were popular focus points #ElementalHub

Despite the rain in York our Year 2 Annual Meeting is underway. So far we've had a BBSRC update & 2025 review with the prospect of new learning opportunities in 2026. Now time for work package updates, posters & networking next! Great to have the team in one room. #ElementalHub #EngineeringBiology

Great to hear about the success of yesterday's Transcriptomics Analysis Pipeline Workshop @yorkdatascience.bsky.social. Well attended and so much potential for future sessions. Thanks to @alastair-droop.bsky.social and @sallyjamesyork.bsky.social . Look out for future sessions

Hello York!
We arrived this afternoon under grey skies to start setting up for our annual 2-day meeting, which kicks off tomorrow.
Lovely to be here, and looking forward to what the next couple of days bring.
#ElementalMissionHub #EngineeringBiology

After all the planning our #ElementalHub Yr2 meeting is finally here! Who is en route to York? We are coming from all corners of the UK armed with posters & flyers ready to review progress, highlight key findings & tackle future challenges. Look for our daily socials from York.

After all the planning our #ElementalHub Yr2 meeting is finally here! Who is en route to York? We are coming from all corners of the UK armed with posters & flyers ready to review progress, highlight key findings & tackle future challenges. Look for our daily socials from York.

Miners turn to bacterial ‘bugs’ to extract copper as prices soar BHP and Rio Tinto among those deploying tech to recover metal from disused sites

Miners turn to bacterial ‘bugs’ to extract copper as prices soar www.ft.com/content/c4bb... via @financialtimes.com

Safe & successful travels @lizrylott.bsky.social one of our first #ElementalHub awardees who is in the US using the Catalysing New UK-US Critical Minerals Research Partnerships Funding. We are proud to support these short-term exchanges, funded by @FCDOResearch. More posts soon from other exchanges

A week until our #Elemental Year 2 Annual Conference, when the whole #ElementalHub team will review progress & stimulate #Collaboration. There will be poster sessions & activities in the areas of Responsible Research Engagement & Impact. Look out for daily posts covering the event. elementalhub.org

Be part of our growing, dynamic #ElementalHub - a community driving innovation in #EnvironmentalProcessing of metals. Access our new facilities finder & stay informed of 2026 events, our latest #Funding opportunities & latest research developments. Free to join at elementalhub.org/home/join-us

Winter Newsletter 2025 - ELEMENTAL Read the Elemental Hub Winter Newsletter 2025 for updates on collaborations, funding opportunities, research highlights, and skill-building initiatives supporting the engineering biology and critical ...

We are busy preparing our Spring Newsletter which will feature 2026 events & highlights of our activity in the early part of the year. Expect new funding opportunities, skills development programmes & more on the strategic context shaping our work. elementalhub.org/2025/12/03/e...

3 weeks to go until our #Elemental Year 2 Annual Conference. Bringing together our team of #EngineeringBiology experts & stakeholders to review progress & stimulate #Collaboration & discussion plus drive continuous development. Look out for daily posts covering the event. elementalhub.org

Jo Santini: "Bioleaching Microbial Community Metabolism and Composition Driven by Copper Sulphide Mineral Type" - ELEMENTAL ABSTRACT Copper bioleaching is a green technology for the recovery of copper from chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and chalcocite (Cu2S) ores. Much remains to be learned about how mineral type and surface chemis...

Read about the work of a #Collaboration with our Work Package 4 lead Joanne Santini & Karen Hudson Edwards one of our Strategic Advisory Board. This article was recently featured in the December issue of Environmental Microbiology Reports
elementalhub.org/2026/01/14/j...

BBSRC ICURe Explore March 2026 - Innovate UK Business Connect

Apply for funding to explore the potential market of your bioscience-based idea, increase market awareness & gain deeper understanding of your technology’s potential applications via the BBSRC ICURe Explore programme with UK Business Connect. More at iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunitie...

Visit our #ElementalHub #MemberSpotlight to view profiles of the LMF & @elizabethwatton.bsky.social. These profiles are more than introductions, they’re an invitation to learn, to connect, & to see the ways Elemental is shaping science & sustainability together. elementalhub.org/member-spotl...

Workshop: Intellectual Property Considerations for Engineering Biology Start‑ups - ELEMENTAL Navigating intellectual property (IP) strategy is critical for early‑stage engineering biology ventures, from protecting breakthrough innovations to attracting investors and avoiding costly disputes. ...

Book now for our expert-led online Intellectual Property Workshop on Thursday 12 March 2026 at 12:30 designed for members working at the forefront of #EngineeringBiology. Whether pre‑seed or scaling your biotech start‑up, this workshop can help, book now at elementalhub.org/2026/01/05/w...

Avoid disappointment & book your place now to attend the Transcriptomics Analysis Pipeline Workshop on Tuesday 10 February. Available to members of the #ElementalHub at just £100 for a full session on the key concepts & led by Alastair Droop & Sally James. Email alastair.droop@york.ac.uk to book.

Warm wishes to all for a Happy New Year during this cold spell! Our activity is heating up kicking off 2026 with monthly events for #Collaboration & February brings our #ElementalHub Annual Meeting. Watch socials for our daily updates. 2026 funding opportunities launching soon. elementalhub.org

Winter Newsletter 2025 - ELEMENTAL As national policy shifts toward sustainable and secure critical-mineral supply chains, our bio-based, circular-economy research is more relevant than ever. These developments open up new opportunitie...

As we close out an exciting year our #ElementalHub Winter newsletter features a reflection by Martin Warren, Chair, highlighting how our work is reshaping thinking around #EngineeringBiology. We re-open on 5th January so catch up on our 2025 achievements:
elementalhub.org/2025/12/03/w...

Welcome to all our new followers of the BBSRC #ElementalHub this year. 2026 will bring more #FundingOpportunities & new online seminars. Be first to find out about 2026 funding available & keep up to date with latest research developments by joining now at elementalhub.org/home/join-us