LabCycle, a University of Bath start-up success story, featured as part of a new Universities UK (UUK) campaign celebrating the impact of student-led start-ups which officially launched in Parliament on Wednesday 19 March.

‘Unis Start Up the UK’ is a UUK initiative showcasing the impacts of university-enabled business start-ups around the country, and the vital role these companies go on to play in delivering economic growth locally, regionally and nationally.

The initiative showcases how universities are equipping entrepreneurs with the right skills through incubator hubs and how university-enabled innovation and enterprise is attracting investors and creating jobs.

As part of this, UUK drew on University of Bath ‘Innovation with Impact’ campaign featuring LabCycle, a company co-founded by Bath graduate Dr Helen Liang to tackle the problem of plastic waste deriving from lab-discarded single use plastic.

Read more on UUK's campaign: Promoting sustainable solutions

When Dr Liang was studying for her PhD at Bath, the sheer quantity of waste upset her so much that she decided to set up LabCycle to tackle the problem. It aims to recycle up to 60% of plastic lab waste to make back into new lab consumables.

Her entrepreneurial journey began at the end of 2019, when she met LabCycle co-founders at a three-day start-up programme run by SETsquared, the award-winning global business incubator and accelerator partnership between Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.

She went on to become a Marie Curie Entrepreneurship Champion during her PhD, organising workshops and inviting researchers at the University who had successfully commercialised their research or started their own businesses to give talks and share their experiences.

In the final year, she entered her business idea for LabCycle into Enterprise Bath’s annual Dragons’ Den pitching competition, where she was awarded funding that enabled her to do further market research. It was then she realised the huge market demand for this service and the potential commercial opportunity.

LabCycle has since partnered with the Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies (iCAST), a research and development centre that uses expertise from the universities of Bath and Oxford to support businesses in the sustainable technology sector.

Commenting, Professor Sarah Hainsworth Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) said: “The University of Bath is delighted to be supporting Universities UK in its ‘Unis start up the UK’ campaign.

"Since our foundation nearly 60 years ago, innovation and enterprise have been at the heart of our activities at Bath. This message of universities driving innovation with impact for growth is as important today as it was then.

“By working with industry and our partners locally, regionally, nationally and internationally we want to continue to innovate and to draw on the University of Bath’s strengths to enable our student and academic entrepreneurs to thrive."

Dr Liang from LabCycle added: "Being in Parliament for the launch of UUK’s ‘Unis to Start Up the UK’ campaign was a real honour. It was amazing to see LabCycle’s mission to tackle lab plastic waste highlighted alongside so many inspiring innovations.

"The University of Bath has been instrumental in my entrepreneurial journey — from early support through Enterprise Bath to SETsquared, iCAST, and the first pilot plant in the UK. Their belief in LabCycle’s vision has never wavered, and I’m proud to represent Bath’s commitment to innovation with impact."

Read more about LabCycle's Innovation with Impact: Giving waste plastics a new lease of life.

Earlier in the day, on Wednesday 19 March, Greg Wade Head of Innovation Policy at UUK presented on the UUK campaign at Bath’s own Enterprise Day.

He added: “Up and down the UK universities are inspiring and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“We want politicians, business leaders, students and parents to know how committed universities are to equipping staff and students with the skills and support needed to turn ideas and ambition into tangible, valuable products and services. That is why we are launching our campaign.

“The Enterprise Day at the University of Bath was great example and a celebration of the many ways in which universities are supporting staff and students and working with employers, entrepreneurs and partners to make enterprise happen.”