A Wellcome‑funded five‑year Synthetic Human Genome (SynHG) consortium received £10 million to develop foundational technologies for large‑scale chromosome engineering, aiming to create reliable genome construction methods and scalable synthesis. The consortium combines teams at Cambridge, Kent, Oxford, Manchester and Imperial to tackle design, synthesis and ethical implications of synthetic human chromosomes. SynHG will focus on technology platforms, error‑tolerant assembly, and socio‑ethical research to inform governance. Project leaders framed the work as proof‑of‑concept building blocks for future genome‑writing capabilities across organisms, while embedding oversight to address biosafety and societal concerns. The program raises scientific and policy questions about the scope and governance of human genome synthesis; proponents position SynHG as an infrastructure project to enable therapeutic and research applications while explicitly incorporating ethical study and stakeholder engagement.