Research at the Quadram Institute has developed sustainable manufacturing processes for B12, helping address a growing global need for the synthesised vitamin.
Research led by Professor Martin Warren at the Quadram Institute and the University of Kent has led to several scientific and technological developments for sustainable vitamin B12 production. The traditional process for synthesising B12 uses bacteria and needs cyanide and cobalt, a heavy metal that is damaging to the environment. A novel strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was developed that required significantly less cobalt, leaving no surplus.