Working together to make innovation happen
Wednesday 11th March 2026
Creosote is a tar-based wood preservative used to protect utility poles, but it is also an environmental contaminant that can leach into soil and water, posing serious health and ecological risks.
The UK energy network utilises creosote-treated poles for overhead-line distribution due to their long service life, with SSEN operating over 1 million and replacing around 20,000 annually.
CREOS-OUT will explore the natural enzymatic capabilities of certain microbes to break down creosote contaminants. The project’s primary goal is to develop a solution based on PAH-decomposing enzymes that can degrade a wide range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), creating an eco-friendly and cost-efficient bioremediation technology. This innovation will serve as the first commercial creosote bio-detergent, offering a sustainable alternative to costly incineration, enabling safer reuse of infrastructure, while supporting sustainable grid expansion, and reducing public and environmental risks.
CREOS-OUT will assess the feasibility, costs and benefits of bioremediation technology to degrade creosote contamination, allowing DNOs and public organisations to resolve long-term environmental challenges, and deliver financial, social and ecological benefits.
CREOS-OUT is expected to enable reclassification of creosote-treated poles from specialised/hazardous to non-hazardous waste, significantly reducing disposal and incineration costs. This approach will support prioritising new pole stock for network expansion, lowers reliance on costly alternatives, and supports upcycling options. Based on SSEN-D’s current disposal rates, approximately 6 million tonnes of wood waste could avoid specialized incineration annually. Scaling this to GB, this figure becomes approximately 30 million tonnes of creosoted wood waste, potentially delivering an annual savings of £500,000 for SSEN-D and approximately £3 million across wider GB.
Specialised/hazardous waste incineration emits up to 2.5 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne, compared to 0.7 to 1.2 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne for standard incineration. CREOS-OUT could cut emissions by 52% to 72%, reducing 0.78 to 1.08 million tonnes of CO₂e annually across GB. Additionally, hazardous waste facilities are limited in the UK, requiring long-distance transportation for logistic vehicles. For example, SSEN-D currently sends poles on a 550-mile round trip, emitting 1.78 tonnes of CO₂e per journey. Eliminating these trips and high-emission incineration delivers substantial carbon savings, benefiting all DNOs.
CREOS-OUT will introduce the first commercially viable sustainable solution for creosote degradation, addressing long-standing operational and environmental challenges. It enables safer, more flexible handling of contaminated materials and may act as a bio-stimulant to enhance soil health by degrading PAHs. Its cost-effectiveness and scalability reduce dependence on expensive pole replacements and energy-intensive disposal, offering a new sustainable and innovative approach to address contamination challenges.
SSEN will collaborate with the University of Strathclyde and James Hutton Limited for the CREOS-OUT Discovery phase SIF innovation project.
The University of Strathclyde is a leading technological institution with a strong record in impactful, industry-engaged research. Within Strathclyde, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS) is an integral part of UoS’s Faculty of Science. UoS will provide interdisciplinary expertise of chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology to lead microbial enzyme discovery and creosote bioremediation, executing both literature and laboratory research, with fermentation, enzyme production, and utilise SIPBS’s Microbiology & Industrial Biotechnology Lab, and analytical equipment (incubators, FPLC, HPLC, MS), to produce the enzymes and conduct biochemical testing of creosote degradation.
James Hutton Limited is a subsidiary of the James Hutton Institute (JHI), providing scientific research, and consultancy services in agriculture, environment, and biotechnology. JHL is a key research provider for the Scottish Government’s Environmental, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) strategy, informing essential policy and practical implementation for the regulatory assessment of this project as well as supporting grassroots initiatives. JHL will lead the regulatory landscape review of the use of creosote, including hazardous waste reclassification procedures, by analysing current regulations, future policy trends, and environmental impacts.
CREOS-OUT successfully secured SIF Discovery funding, with the project set to kick off in February 2026.
Total Discovery phase project costs: £152,245
SIF Discovery funding requested: £137,020
Start Date – 02 Feb 2026
End Date – 29 May 2026
Nyi Lin Htet
