Manchester-based biotech firm New Wave Biotech has entered a strategic partnership with CPI, the UK’s national translational research and innovation organisation, to apply hybrid AI-powered simulation technology to lipid extraction processes. The collaboration aims to resolve persistent challenges in both solvent-based and non-solvent extraction methods that have hindered the scaling of sustainable lipid production for over a decade.

The initiative comes as demand intensifies for lipid-based ingredients across food, feed, personal care, and pharmaceutical sectors. With UK food prices having risen 5.1% over the past year according to the Office for National Statistics, improving downstream lipid processing efficiency carries direct implications for supply resilience and product affordability.

Technical approach combines in-silico modelling with minimal data requirements

The partnership centres on New Wave Biotech’s hybrid AI platform, which enables CPI to conduct thousands of in-silico simulations to evaluate performance, cost, and sustainability parameters before physical trials. Unlike conventional machine learning tools requiring extensive datasets, the platform achieves high predictive accuracy from minimal experimental data. Previous validation demonstrated up to four times greater accuracy than industry norms when predicting outcomes from a single dataset.

The New Wave Biotech Team

CPI will apply the digital tools to assess both conventional solvent-based extraction methods, which rely on large volumes of hazardous chemicals and energy-intensive recovery processes, and emerging non-solvent approaches that offer improved safety profiles but face cost and consistency challenges. The work extends to intracellular bioprocesses, with applications spanning palm oil, cocoa butter, and animal fat alternatives.

“Lipid costs are visible in everything from food to cosmetics, and solving this challenge is key to making alternatives affordable and accessible,” said Nix Hall, chief technology officer of New Wave Biotech. “By combining predictive accuracy with techno-economic and sustainability insights, our platform helps innovators cut down on trial and error.”

Stephen Wright, manager of downstream processing at CPI, noted: “This platform achieves high accuracy from minimal data, allowing us to identify the best downstream routes much earlier and with greater confidence.”

The project receives support from an Innovate UK grant under the UKRI National Engineering Biology Programme.