Cutting-edge startup, Deep Blue Biotech has found its new home at Sheffield Technology Parks, joining the city's growing science and technology ecosystem. The company, which is dedicated to producing sustainable chemicals using cyanobacteria, is the first business to take up residence in our brand-new shared lab facility and is already becoming embedded within the community here.

Finding a sustainable and commercially viable solution

Founded in March 2023 by Tim Corcoran (COO) and Manuel Rios (CEO), Deep Blue Biotech is on a mission to transform chemical production using blue-green algae from the ocean. These microscopic organisms, which the team describes as "potent allies in combating climate change," are being developed to produce hyaluronic acid—a sought after ingredient in health, beauty, and wellness products.

Their work taps into the growing 'blue beauty' trend, which emphasises ocean-derived sustainable ingredients. This, they hope, will help them to overcome the historic challenge of commercialising sustainable chemicals. Tim explains,

“Sustainable chemical production is an area that has traditionally been expensive and inefficient. Many companies have attempted it and failed, mainly because they have focussed on commodity chemicals which don’t sell for much. But, by targeting more expensive chemicals like hyaluronic acid, we see good commercial potential in the beauty and personal care industries.”

Why Sheffield?

Tim and Manuel, who met on the Carbon13 venture accelerator, initially set up their lab in the South East of England. However, Tim—who was already based in Sheffield—was regularly being introduced to researchers at the University of Sheffield specialising in cyanobacteria. Recognising the potential of being closer to this expertise, he explored options in the city and was introduced to Sheffield Technology Parks (STP). At the same time, we were in the process of developing a shared lab facility, which for Tim and Manuel, was ideal.

“For an early-stage business, being in a communal lab is a far more economical way of doing things," Tim comments. "It works well for us as we are only a small team and rarely have all members in at once, so we don’t need a huge space.”

Beyond the practical benefits of the shared lab, Tim recognises the advantage of sitting right at the heart of the sci-tech ecosystem in his location at STP, and the mutual benefits this could generate. "Having the University on our doorstep is incredibly useful—we’ve had some great conversations, and they’re a fantastic resource to tap into. If we can commercialise the use of cyanobacteria in chemical production, it will be a big advantage to them as well.”

Creating jobs and building an expert team

Deep Blue Biotech completed a pre-seed funding round in autumn 2024, and this has already enabled them to create new jobs in Sheffield. They have recruited two senior scientists: Dr. M. Lucia Burdisso, Chief Science Officer, who is relocating from Argentina to take up the position and Dr. Matt Proctor, Head of R&D, who Tim met through his connections at the University of Sheffield.

Additionally, the company is hosting PhD student Josh Barrett through the University, further strengthening ties between academia and industry.

Growing as part of a supportive community

Deep Blue Biotech has also taken space in STP’s new shared office, designed specifically for lab users. "It’s brilliant to have a space close by where I can work and be on hand, but I’m not getting under our scientists' feet," Tim says. "Often, they need to be quietly concentrating, whereas I’m on the phone a lot, which can be a distraction.”

STP’s collaborative and friendly community has been another major benefit of the move. “As soon as I arrived here, I could feel a sense of community and people wanting to help each other out,” Tim explains. “As an early-stage company, meeting people is so beneficial, and we’re able to do that easily here. STP is doing a great job of facilitating that.”

While no other company in Sheffield is working on quite the same thing, Deep Blue Biotech has already found technological overlap with other STP residents, such as Evolutor and Cooper Project alumni, Future Greens. “There may be instances where it makes sense to share equipment, but we can also share experiences— that might be navigating funding and investment, or growth opportunities like accelerators, we’re operating in a similar world so will definitely have useful insight to share.”

Building Sheffield’s science ecosystem

For Tim, Deep Blue Biotech’s relocation is about contributing to the bigger picture of Sheffield’s future as a hub for science and technology.

“There is an awful lot of potential here, and I would love to see it flourish," he says. "Cambridge and Oxford are the more obvious choices because of their knowledge-rich businesses, but I really want to see more people come into Sheffield who might not have thought about it."

Deep Blue Biotech is helping to lay the foundation for an exciting wave of scientific innovation in the city— we’re thrilled to have them as first residents of our new shared labs! Find out more about the company at: deepbluebiotech.com.