E.V.A Biosystems

Like everyone who loves the sea, Dr Alex Speakman was aware of the global plastic crisis, from documentaries such as Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet through to his own walks along the beach. With more than 14 million tonnes of plastic entering the sea each year, he wanted to help solve the pollution problem.

Alex explained:

Plastic is a really good material – there’s a reason it’s everywhere...it’s so strong, it’s so cheap, it’s so abundant, and it’s here to stay, unfortunately. While there are alternatives, most perform poorly, they’re difficult to manufacture, they’re three or four times more expensive, and they can’t be sourced at scale to meet the demand for plastic.

Alex knew a compromise was needed in the short term to help reduce the impact that plastic has on the planet. Having studied molecular genetics for his undergraduate degree and undertaken his doctorate in bioengineering, Alex realised he could combine his love of nature with his research to help develop a solution.

During the pandemic lockdowns, Alex came up with the idea of building bacteria into plastics. When the bacteria sense that the plastic has finished being used – and ended up in the sea or landfill – then they produce enzymes that break down the plastic.

Rather than simply breaking the plastic into fragments – which would add to the problem of microplastics finding their way into fish and plants – multiple enzymes could be used to destroy the plastic at a molecular level. The idea for integrating biology into manufacturing came from one of Alex’s other passions – using his three-dimensional (3D) printer to make components for his PhD project, bits and bobs for round the house, and figures for tabletop games.

Alex secured two £750 grants from Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, to help him develop his initial prototype. By now, Alex was hooked on the idea of developing his concept into a business and so EI also introduced him to the University’s Venture Builder Incubator (VBI).

Alex founded his company, E.V.A Biosystems, in 2021 and the following year took part in VBI’s second cohort. 

The biggest way that VBI helped me was in shifting my mindset from being an academic to being a business owner

he explained: 

As an entrepreneur, you need to have confidence because you’re pitching all the time, whereas when you’re an academic you’re dealing in probabilities. In business, if you don’t believe in yourself then why should anyone else believe in you?

As well as shaping his entrepreneurial mindset, VBI also equipped Alex with the skills he needed to set up and run his business. The introductions that VBI’s members of staff made during networking events proved especially useful in plugging Alex into the wider innovation ecosystem, both inside the University and beyond.

Those introductions included Old College Capital (OCC), the University’s investment arm, which provided match funding for Alex to win a SMART:SCOTLAND feasibility study grant from Scottish Enterprise, one of Scotland’s economic development agencies. Together, those pieces of funding allowed him to begin working on E.V.A Biosystems full time after completing his PhD, and to hire his first member of staff.

Running a company is a full-time job, and a lot of founders really struggle to pay themselves, so I’m incredibly lucky to be able to do this.

Alex continues: 

Now that we’re a team of two it means our R&D can move at the rate we need to make progress.

As well as securing funding from OCC and Scottish Enterprise, Alex also won the “Grow – Growth Innovation” prize at EI’s 2023 Inspire, Launch, Grow Awards. Each of the competition’s 16 finalists had less than 60 seconds on stage to pitch their business idea, with Alex putting his newly-honed pitching skills to good use to win the £5,000 first prize in his category.

As well as taking on investment, Alex is also keen to create a board of directors for E.V.A Biosystems, tapping into expertise across the industrial biotechnology, life sciences, plastics manufacturing, and recycling industries.