3 minute read
NPL officially launched its pioneering UK Reference Biofoundry, a world-class facility dedicated to advancing engineering biology through metrology, standards and high-throughput automation. The facility was officially opened by Lord Vallance, UK Science Minister on Monday 3 November.
The biofoundry is designed to complement existing UK facilities and is directly supporting UK companies to accelerate the development and adoption of engineering biology by providing the measurement infrastructure needed to scale biological innovations reliably and reproducibly.
UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance said: “Engineering biology is a transformative technology with the potential to revolutionise healthcare, food security, and sustainable manufacturing. These are key sectors which underpin our economy. Transforming them will help get more people in work and create vital jobs to boost growth across the country.
“The NPL Reference Biofoundry will give UK innovators the tools they need to turn breakthrough science into scalable, investable solutions – helping us lead the world in this vital field.”
The biofoundry complements the UK’s broader engineering biology ecosystem, offering unique capabilities and metrology solutions in DNA synthesis, protein design, cell engineering, and bioprocess scale-up. It is the first metrology-focused biofoundry, encompassing such a breadth of combined synthetic and analytical capabilities in a single facility.
Dr Peter Thompson, CBE, CEO of NPL, added: “This facility is a game-changer. It is built on our expertise as the UK’s National Metrology Institute and brings together multidisciplinary science, AI integration, and expertise in standards development to make biological systems more predictable and scalable. That predictability is key to unlocking investment and delivering real-world impact.”
The biofoundry will support UK industry and research organisations, from academia to National labs by:
Providing reference datasets for benchmarking biological designs and AI models.
Developing metrics and reference standards for engineered molecular, cell-based and cell-free systems.
Optimising prototyping and automation in design-build-test-learn cycles to scale.
Supporting safe and ethical innovation through rigorous oversight and trusted research frameworks.
The biofoundry will play a critical role in enabling and supporting a sustainable bio-based economy.
04 Nov 2025