4th BBNet conference: The future of biorefining: feedstocks, technologies and products

15–17 October 2025, Mercure Sheffield St Paul's Hotel & Spa, 119 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 2JE,

Registration for the conference is now closed.

BBNet is delighted to announce that the annual conference will once again being held at the Mercure Sheffield St Paul’s Hotel and Spa.

The three-day conference, entitled “The future of biorefining: feedstocks, technologies and products,” aims to highlight recent research findings and practical applications within the biorefining domain, provide an overview of advancements in the sector, and examine prospective bio-based feedstocks.

The conference brings together participants from industry, academia and the policy sector to share ideas, and catalyse working partnerships in new and productive ways. The event will include a wide variety of sessions, speakers, flash presentations and, as the current BBNet funding draws to a close, we will showcase some of the projects funded by BBNet and celebrate the impact the network has had. There will be several opportunities for networking during breaks, dinners and the poster sessions; and we are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting an exhibition with a number of key suppliers and businesses within the industry.

The conference commences with registration at 11am on Wednesday 15th October, and will conclude at 12.50pm (followed by a light lunch) on Friday 17th October 2025.

The conference will cover the following aspects:

• Current landscape and priorities
• Feedstock availability
• New and emerging feedstocks
• Advancements in bio-based technologies
• ECR presentation opportunity
• BBNet showcase

Confirmed chairs and speakers:

We are extremely pleased to be supported by some exceptional names in the industry, with confirmed chairs and speakers including:

Keynote presentation:

• Professor Lee Lynd, Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth College

Session chairs:

• Professor Andy Pickford, Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Director of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI), University of Portsmouth
• Professor Claire Halpin, Professor of Plant Sciences and Associate Dean for Research, University of Dundee
• David Bott, Head of Innovation, The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)
• Sarah Davidson, Technology Development Lead, Croda Europe Ltd
• Dr. Mark Gronnow, Process Development Unit Manager, Biorenewables Development Centre
• Professor Neil Bruce, Director of BBNet and the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), University of York
• Dr. Gavin Milligan, Green Knight Sustainability Consulting
• Professor Patricia Thornley, Aston University

Speakers:

• Dr. Adrian Higson, Director, Alder BioInsights (formerly NNFCC)
• Dr. Leonardo Gomez, Senior Research Fellow, University of York
• Krisztina Kovacs-Schreiner, CEO, Lixea
• Mario Murakami, Director, Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR)
• Dr. Marisa Coral, Corporate E2G Process and Development Manager, Raizen, Brazil
• Jeremy Jentys, BioConsulting GmbH
• Professor Helen Hailes, University College London
• Dr. Joanna Saddler, University of Edinburgh
• Dr. Chenyu Du, University of Huddersfield
• Dr. Jack Guo,Protonera
• Al Sanderson, Flue2Chem (formerly Unilever)
• Victoria Ramos Sodré de Castro, University of Warwick
• Charles Dimmler, Holiferm
• Mark Richmond, WRM
• Mark Game, The Bread and Butter Thing
• Paul Buxton, Samworth Brothers
• Dr. Micaela Chacon, University of Manchester
• Dr. Mauro Rinaldi, University of Hull
• Dr. Federico Sabbadin, University of York
• Dr. Parimala Shivaprasad, University of Nottingham
• Dr. Meredith Barr, London South Bank University
• Dr. Sebastian Cosgrove, Keele University
• Dr. Yue Zhang, University of Southampton
• Kees Kwant, Netherlands Enterprise Agency
• Dr. Jen Vanderhoven, Bio-based Industries Association (BBIA)
• Stephen Webb, BBSRC

The BBNet Conference 2025 programme can be found here. Some timings and the running order may be subject to change.

Key information

Key dates:

• Registration opened: 28 April 2025
• Registration closed: 22 June 2025 (midnight). NOW CLOSED.
• Delegates were contacted to confirm their place at the conference: 30 June 2025
• Conference information shared with confirmed delegates: w/c 21 July 2025
• Final delegate information and reminders: 01 October 2025

What’s included for confirmed delegates:

• 2 nights accommodation (if requested);
• all meals including two conference dinners;
• networking opportunities;
• an exciting programme of speakers and sessions;
• access to the exhibition throughout days 1 & 2

Location:

• Find out about the hotel venue and its facilities here
• Find out about travel options here

Cost:

The cost of the conference is free to participants. This includes the three-day conference, lunch, refreshments throughout each day, dinner and overnight accommodation on 15 and 16 October. Participants will be expected to self-fund their travel and any other related expenses. Please note that the conference is paid for using public funds, so we urge you to think carefully about whether you can definitely attend before confirming your place. Please see terms and conditions for further information on charges related to last minute cancellations.

Exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities:

We have a number of sponsorship opportunities available and for this first time we will be running an exhibition alongside the conference. To find out more information, find a package to suit you and to reserve your exhibition space now please see the following document.

Please note that the only remaining sponsorship packages are silver and bronze.

We are pleased to confirm the following sponsors:

Find out more about the organisations supporting and exhibiting at our conference.