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Research staff in the Centre for Population Biology (CPB) at Imperial developed a range of species conservation assessment tools and methodologies based on population modelling carried out by CPB research staff. The introduction in 1994 of a scientifically rigorous approach to determine risks of extinction that is applicable to all species, based on underlying research at Imperial and described in paper [6], has led to a rigorous and robust approach that is used by governments, conservation organisations and researchers worldwide. In particular, these tools have been applied in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ and have made a fundamental contribution to this conservation measure. This Red List is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. It plays a prominent role in guiding conservation activities of governments, NGOs and scientific institutions and has led to the formation of the Red List Index. Results from the Red List Index have led to worldwide bodies rethinking conservation targets and indicators and strongly influenced the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2020 Aichi targets.
Plaxica is a spin-out from, and based, at Imperial College London with economic, societal and environmental impacts. Launched in 2008, Plaxica is a process technology licensing business which is tackling the barriers that currently prevent a wider acceptance of bioplastics; specifically improving properties, decreasing cost and using non-food feedstocks to manufacture the biopolymer poly(lactic acid), PLA. Plaxica's technology uses sustainable feedstocks to produce PLA using more energy-efficient processes, to produce a strong, high-quality polymer, the result of which is a low-cost, environmentally-friendly biopolymer for use in applications including textiles, packaging, and automobile parts. In the REF period Plaxica has raised £10m from investors such as Imperial Innovations, Invesco Perpetual and NESTA Investments. The market pull for biorenewable materials from consumers is strong and the EU predicts that PLA will substitute >10% of the existing market for petrochemical polymers and forecasts a market >$15b [A].
Working with TMO Renewables Ltd, work in Dr Leak's laboratory at Imperial College demonstrated that thermophilic bacteria of the genus Geobacillus could use a novel (i.e. non-textbook) route to produce ethanol. TMO used this information to develop strains that produced ethanol in commercially useful quantities from lignocellulose breakdown products. This allowed them to: (i) compete for and win a major contract ($500M over 20 years) with Fiberight in the USA in 2010, to turn fermentable components of municipal solid waste into biofuel, (ii) enter into partnership agreements with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation in 2011, and (iii) enter into agreements in 2012 and 2013 with Usina Santa Maria Cerquilho to build a bioethanol production facility in Brazil. The most recent agreement with Brazil will create more than 150 new jobs in the UK. At the end of 2011, TMO Renewables reported a net worth of almost £11million.