Sustainable Extricko wins SPARK Award to pioneer microbial enzyme research for composite recycling
Sustainable Extricko, in partnership with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), has been awarded a prestigious SPARK Award under the Engineering Biology Innovation Network. The funding supports a cutting-edge project exploring how marine microorganisms and their enzymes could enhance the recycling of thermoset composites.
Thermoset resins—such as epoxy and polyester—are essential in products ranging from boats and wind turbine blades to paints, coatings, and electronics. While these materials are strong and durable in use, their resilience makes them extremely difficult to recycle at end-of-life. Today, most thermosets are landfilled or incinerated, generating environmental and regulatory challenges.
Extricko’s pressolysis technology already provides a lower-carbon route to recover fibres and resin building blocks from these materials. This new project will test whether biology can be layered on top of that chemistry—by using metagenomics to identify and apply microbial enzymes capable of accelerating resin breakdown and boosting recovery yields.
Dr. Joe Penhaul, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Sustainable Extricko, said:
“We know pressolysis can unlock value from composites that were once thought unrecyclable. The next step is to ask if biology can make this process even more efficient. By identifying microbial enzymes that target specific thermoset chemistries, we can combine advanced chemistry with natural systems and push recycling science further than ever before.”
Sam Penhaul, Co-Founder of Sustainable Extricko, added:
“The implications are significant. If we can integrate enzymatic processes into Extricko units, recycling becomes faster, cleaner, and potentially applicable across more industries. From marine to automotive to renewables, the commercial and environmental benefits are huge—and this award helps us move one step closer.”
The project will see microbial communities cultivated on pressolysis-treated composites for nine months, with metagenomic sequencing used to pinpoint promising enzymes. The data will guide future research into how these enzymes could be applied to improve the breakdown of different thermoset types.
Funded through Innovate UK’s Technology Missions Fund, the SPARK Award is designed to support projects that accelerate engineering biology innovations into commercial applications.