Glycolate – also known as glycolic acid – is a basic chemical and serves as a starting material for the production of preservatives, polymers and medicines. Until now, the substance has been obtained from fossil raw materials, some of which are toxic. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) in Dresden, Chemnitz University of Technology and Leipzig University are currently developing a sustainable process for glycolate production as part of the PhotoKon project.

Organic farming is a climate-friendly form of agriculture. It deliberately avoids the use of pesticides. Instead, organic fertilisers and adapted crop rotations are used to promote plant growth and protect them from disease. However, organic farming also suffers from the consequences of climate change, such as drought and heat. A new study involving the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) offers organic farms a solution for achieving sufficient yields even in drought conditions while protecting the environment.

Can artificial intelligence help make agriculture more productive, sustainable and cost-effective? This question is the focus of the new AI Living Lab for Agriculture (RLA), which officially began its work on 17 October. Together with seven partners, the research team led by the University of Osnabrück is dedicated to developing intelligent technologies for a resilient agricultural and food industry.

Drought and heat put many plants under stress and often cause their water reserves to be depleted. A research team at the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) at Heidelberg University has now discovered a previously unknown molecular mechanism that helps plants conserve water.

Traditionally produced leather is associated with significant environmental impacts, including deforestation, high emissions and pollution. Conventional synthetic leather is also criticised: it often contains plastics or is tanned using harmful chemicals, which can have negative effects on the environment and health. As a result, demand for leather alternatives is steadily increasing. In the FABULOSE project, eleven European partners are developing new scalable and bio-based production routes for animal-free leather alternatives.

Plastics are an integral part of everyday life – from packaging to technical components. Until now, however, they could only be produced using petroleum, which is not only a finite resource but also causes considerable environmental pollution during extraction and processing. As part of his doctoral thesis at Ruhr University Bochum, which was funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation, Daniel Eggerichs therefore developed a process that enables genetically modified bacteria to produce plastic precursors from waste from the paper industry.

Heat, drought and pests are putting increasing pressure on forests. Mountain forests, such as those in the Allgäu region, are particularly affected. Planting new, climate-resilient tree species is therefore a promising option for mitigating the effects of climate change and preserving the ecosystem for future generations. Researchers from the Institute for Applied AI and Robotics (IKR) at Kempten University of Applied Sciences now want to make reforestation more efficient and accelerate it with the help of drones and artificial intelligence (AI).