This project aims to harness Vibrio natriegens, the world’s fastest-growing bacterium, as a microbial cell factory for synthetic biology and biotechnology. The project expects to develop new genetic tools and genetically-engineered microbes that can rapidly transform cheap feedstocks, such as plastic waste, into valuable chemicals and bioplastics. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the mechanisms driving V. natriegens’ rapid growth, as well as building Australian multidisciplinary research capacity in synthetic biology that can translate this potential into bio-manufacturing processes. Significant benefits include the means to cut plastic pollution in our environment and to provide the basis for a carbon-negative chemical industry.