Technology that will help to boost milk production has received a funding boost. Albasense, a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) spin-out organisation, has received a share of £1m funding awarded to projects in Cumbria and South and West Scotland by Digital Dairy Chain.

Albasense is developing a fast-response device to monitor carbon dioxide in breath for early diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease. It is thought that early diagnosis will allow timely intervention, reduce antibiotic use and improve animal welfare which in turn will boost milk yields by 8%. The disease currently costs the dairy industry £60-80m annually.

 

We are delighted to secure this new Digital Dairy Chain project with our industrial partners and look forward to delivering successful outputs.

- Professor Des Gibson, CEO of Albasense

 

The team at Albasense are collaborating with Wideblue, Paragon Vets and McCaskie Ltd on their project.

Digital Dairy Chain, a collaborative project led by SRUC to create advanced, sustainable and digitally connected dairy manufacturing funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the Strength in Places Fund. Albasense was awarded the funding as a successful winner in the 2024 Collaborative Research & Development Grant Competition.

The competition is managed and awarded independently by the UK's national innovation agency, Innovate UK.

 

We’re delighted that Albasense has received funding from Digital Dairy Chain. The funding will be used to address both the economic and the animal welfare challenges facing the dairy industry.

UWS has a proud tradition of producing research that makes a demonstrable impact. This project is another great example of excellent, relevant, and purposeful research, aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Albasense’s win showcases our commitment to sustainability, transforming our world and improving lives.

- Robert MacIntosh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation at UWS

 

The project feeds into several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 3: Good Health and Well Being and SDG 15: Life on Land.

This is the second round of Collaborative Research & Development Grant Competition funding. The five 2024 winning projects this year faced strong competition from across the sector and have been awarded almost £1m between them. Funding totalling £3m was available from the Digital Dairy Chain with the aim of supporting innovative projects focused on improving dairy production and the supply chain in Cumbria and the South and West of Scotland.

The collaborative and business-led projects have each received grants of between £150-250k which will be invested in work taking place across Digital Dairy Chain’s geographical reach. Projects had to show a realistic potential to support business growth, scale-up and create jobs for the sector within the region.

 

The calibre of applications we received for this final round of R&D competition funding was once again exceptionally high. The winning applications faced stiff competition and are all very deserving of the funding. These are groundbreaking ideas across several innovative subject matters, which will have significant implications for dairy productivity and sustainable production on a national level.

- Stuart Martin, Programme Director of Digital Dairy Chain