Adelaide University: Plant SynBio Australia- Cutting-edge capability to support plant synthetic biology and biotech commercialisation

Opportunity for

• Researchers and startups in need of synthetic biology capabilities
• Industry partners seeking gene editing, tissue culture or field trial services
• Innovators exploring plant-based biomanufacturing or novel crop traits
• Investors and collaborators supporting commercialisation of agbiotech innovation

Opportunity description

Industry challenge:

Commercialising plant synthetic biology is complex and costly, with limited local access to high-containment facilities, regulatory support, and the specialised capabilities needed to bring early-stage plant innovations to field or market. Many researchers and startups are forced offshore, risking biosecurity delays and high costs, or stall altogether in the critical transition from lab to commercial-scale development.

The Plant SynBio Foundry, supported by BioPlatforms Australia and located at the Adelaide University, addresses this bottleneck. It provides open-access infrastructure, scientific expertise, and commercialisation support to help researchers and companies progress synthetic biology innovations in crops, including gene editing, trait development and field trials.

Current opportunity:

The newly launched Adelaide node of the Plant SynBio Foundry is open to expressions of interest from potential research, industry, or startup collaborators. The facility supports end-to-end synthetic biology workflows including design, build, test and learn cycles, DNA synthesis, plant transformation, and high-containment growth and field trials.

Startups may also be eligible to access dedicated low-cost “hotel” space with equipment, lab access and technical support, designed to help bridge the ‘valley of death’ in agbiotech commercialisation.

Researchers and companies may also be eligible for BioPlatforms Australia voucher schemes to reduce the cost of access.

The team is particularly keen to engage with partners to shape future crop priorities and explore use cases across ag, food, health and sustainability sectors.

This is a unique opportunity to engage with a nationally funded synthetic biology capability designed specifically to accelerate plant innovation in Australia, with pathways from lab to field.

Opportunity background:

The Foundry is funded through BioPlatforms Australia under the national research infrastructure program and is led across four nodes: Adelaide University, ANU, La Trobe University and University of Western Australia. 

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