A key objective for all project partners is to bring bioeconomy to the Rhenish mining district. "We want to highlight the insights and experiences we gained from the model region, especially our flagships, and make them practically applicable, while also understanding how the structural change to a bioeconomy model region works. Ultimately, we aim to create an innovation ecosystem that brings together civil society, politics, industry, and science in the model region," explains Dienhart.

Supporting knowledge transfer

In addition, a secretariat has been established as part of the project to support the transfer of knowledge from accompanying research into bioeconomic practice—through events, publications, workshops, delegations, and company and trade fair visits. The primary focus of the transfer is on existing and new stakeholders, the regional society, as well as interregional networking.

"The secretariat's role is to link the research activities in the flagships and accompanying research with the stakeholders and their challenges in the region, and to communicate the progress and opportunities of individual technological innovations for industry and agriculture, as well as bioeconomy for societal transformation, to the target groups," explains Christian Klar from IGB at Forschungszentrum Jülich, who is responsible for the secretariat.

According to Klar, the Rhenish mining district offers great potential for bioeconomy because it can draw on an "intensively developed network of actors." "The business landscape in the Rhenish mining district, including food, chemicals, paper, textiles, biotech, combined with agriculture and science, provides an excellent starting point. The goal of our work is to better connect especially SMEs with the innovation potential in regional science," says Klar. Through networking and transfer, it is ensured that the Rhenish mining district benefits from research results, by "developing solutions for real problems and challenges in the structural change region."

The TIM team led by Christina Dienhart focuses on the economic aspects needed for the practical success of bioeconomy in the structural transformation. These include, for example, the development of business models, analysis of bioeconomic technologies, and investigation of regional networks. Through interviews, surveys, and events, the TIM team also explores which actors in the region are "active in the broadest sense" in bioeconomy and whether and how they are connected. For the scientific part of the accompanying research, in addition to TIM, four other institutes from RWTH Aachen and TU Dortmund are responsible.

Focus on start-ups

Researchers from TU Dortmund are specifically focusing on the founding and settlement activities of companies and start-ups in the bioeconomy, both in the Rhineland region and beyond. "Our goal is to understand what motivates companies and start-ups to establish and settle in the Rhineland, in order to make the model region an attractive and innovative location for bioeconomy," says Steffen Strese, who leads the project at TU Dortmund. "The current founding numbers show a continuous positive development of bioeconomy start-ups in the Rhineland, with most still being in a very early stage of development. Furthermore, it has become apparent that a large part of the start-ups are university spin-offs or spin-offs from existing companies and research institutions," reports Strese.

But what has changed since the project started in 2022? The status conference has established an annual platform where all stakeholders from the Rhineland region exchange views on selected topics such as land use, stakeholder engagement, and start-up culture. At the same time, the event offers the accompanying research an opportunity to present its findings publicly.

Status conference brings stakeholders together

"With the status conference, we bring together a variety of stakeholders. It is a public event, to which the two flagships invite their contacts, as well as representatives from companies, start-ups, and politics. We use the status conference to present our topics and thus provide a stimulus for discussion," explains Dienhart.

During the status conference, the annual innovation report of the accompanying research is also published. It provides an insight into the current development of the bioeconomy model region in the Rhineland and contains brief contributions from the accompanying research. "In addition, we have launched a white paper series titled ‘Blickpunkt Bioökonomie’ (spotlight on bioeconomy) in which we translate our scientific findings into practical reports."

In addition, the TIM team has developed recommendations for action for practical bioeconomy in the region: "We have identified various strategy development patterns that show how regional innovation projects can develop and implement a shared strategy," says the researcher. "Once you know which pattern a project or consortium fits into, you also know how to best support it, as we understand the challenges and success factors."

As an example, Dienhart mentions projects in which ideas are developed in a very grassroots democratic way. "These projects have the advantage of being supported and developed by all stakeholders together. However, they also have the disadvantage that it can sometimes take longer to achieve initial results. With our analyses, we can provide policymakers with recommendations on how to best support such projects, unlock their potential, and identify weaknesses as early as possible," explains Dienhart.

According to Dienhart, the concept of the bioeconomy model region has also been incorporated into the curriculum at RWTH Aachen. Here, students are involved in concrete projects, raising awareness of the topic. Inspiring doctoral candidates through interdisciplinary training to start their own ventures and thus actively shape the transformation in the Rhineland region is also the goal of the AUFBRUCH graduate cluster, which is funded by the BMBF and in which the three partners from the accompanying research project are also involved. 

Start-ups benefit from strong regional networking

In addition, a competence map was created during the course of the project, showing which companies are active in which areas within the Rhineland region. TU Dortmund also publishes the so-called Bioeconomy Start-up Pulse annually. "This report aims to highlight the unique features of bioeconomy start-ups and their significance for structural transformation, as well as to identify the challenges and opportunities these start-ups face," explains Steffen Strese. One of the biggest challenges for bioeconomy start-ups is financing, according to Strese. "However, start-ups in the Rhineland region also benefit from strong networking in the region when acquiring financial capital."

Strengthening technology transfer to the economy

As part of a so-called Delphi study, researchers at RWTH Aachen are currently investigating what the future of the Rhineland region might look like with regard to a bio-based economy. Initial results are already available: While the Rhineland region offers good conditions for the bioeconomic transformation, particularly with the two flagship projects and the WIR! alliance Ingrain, "the technology transfer into applications in the regional economy needs to be significantly strengthened," says Dienhart. "This requires more application-oriented research projects, closer cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises, better funding, and also regulatory adjustments." Support for start-ups in the region should also be improved. According to Dienhart, this not only concerns financing but also the creation of laboratory space.

Involving the public

Initial findings from the collaborative project Bioeconomy-VVU show: "The structural transformation can only succeed if it is made from the region for the region, involves all stakeholders, and includes the public," summarizes Dienhart. Currently, the coal phase-out is being communicated in an extremely negative way because there is uncertainty about how it can succeed. "By presenting a better picture, we need to create a sense of optimism," says Dienhart.

Author: Beatrix Boldt