Synthetic cells—tiny robots built from scratch to mimic living cells—currently run out of energy within hours, unable to generate, store, or transform power like real cells do. This energy bottleneck is the single biggest obstacle to deploying synthetic cells in the real world. Without a sustained energy supply, these microrobots cannot perform the tasks that make them promising: sensing toxins in water, manufacturing drugs on demand, or repairing damaged tissue inside the body. The Japan-UK SYNERGY programme brings together teams from Tokyo Tech, Imperial College London, and Cambridge to build three functional modules that let synthetic cells produce ATP from chemical substrates, store that energy in molecular batteries, and harvest energy from non-chemical sources like light. If successful, the research could extend the functional lifetime of synthetic cells from hours to days or longer, unlocking their use in environmental remediation, biomanufacturing, and medicine. The project is primarily fundamental science—engineering the core energy infrastructure of an artificial cell—but it directly addresses a practical barrier that currently prevents any synthetic cell technology from leaving the lab. The grant also funds roughly twenty research visits and five international workshops, building a permanent UK-Japan research centre that trains early-career researchers and cements both countries’ leadership in the coming synthetic cell revolution.
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Synthetic Cells (SynCells) are microrobots constructed from the bottom-up to replicate complex responses of living cells. By constructing simpler mimics of biological cells, each molecular component can be validated, the cell rationally assembled, and its functionality accurately predicted. The ability of SynCells to replicate and combine key biological functionality (e.g. movement, communication, biosynthesis, computation) promises to generate technologies that can revolutionize healthcare, biomanufacturing and environmental remediation. Translation of SynCell technologies is, however, hampered by their inability to function for extended periods of time due to challenges with generating, transforming, and storing energy. Tackling the urgent “energy bottleneck” in SynCell science is a tremendous task, which exceeds the capabilities of any individual research group and, arguably, any country. With this program – Engineering sustained function in SYNthetic cells through enERGY generation, storage and transformation, Japan-UK SYNERGY – we propose to address the energy bottleneck in SynCell science by harnessing the capabilities of leading teams at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. By integrating state-of-the art solutions in bio-membrane engineering, membrane-less compartmentalization, crystal biomaterials, nucleic acid nanotechnology, microfluidics, and cell-free protein expression, we will develop functional modules through which SynCells will be able to i) produce ATP (energy) from chemical substrates, ii) store it in molecular batteries and iii) harvest energy from non-chemical sources. When combined, the energy modules will significantly extend the functional lifetime of SynCells, unlocking their real-world deployment as new technologies in biotechnology and medicine. As such, this grant will place Japan and the UK in a prime position to develop disruptive SynCell biotechnologies with significant economic benefit. International engagement will be underpinned by an extensive exchange program, including ~20 research visits and five international workshops, offering unprecedented opportunities for ECR development and academic collaboration beyond the scientific objectives of the project. Japan-UK SYNERGY emerges from established partnerships between the Japan and UK teams, seed-funded by four BBSRC Japan International Partnership Awards and numerous student and staff exchanges. Building on this collaboration track record, we envision Japan-UK SYNERGY to emerge as a permanent, international research centre boosting the academic, industrial, and societal impact of SynCell technologies and ensuring that Japan and the UK consolidate their leading role in the upcoming SynCell revolution.
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