Bioeconomy News

The combined cultivation of alfalfa and ribwort plantain doubles yields and reduces nitrate levels in the soil. This is shown by a study conducted in collaboration with the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research.

Researchers at Chemnitz University of Technology, Leipzig University and the Fraunhofer Institute FEP are developing microalgae as ‘cell factories’ that can produce the important basic chemical glycolate from carbon dioxide and sunlight.

Research into sustainable and future-proof agriculture using artificial intelligence (AI) is the focus of the newly opened Living Lab for Agriculture, which is run by the University of Osnabrück.

A research team at Heidelberg University has discovered a previously unknown molecular mechanism that plants use to prevent water loss during extreme drought and strong sunlight.

The EU project FABULOSE receives €3.5 million in funding for biotechnologically produced vegan leather alternatives based on cellulose. Four partners from Baden-Württemberg are involved.

Daniel Eggerichs has developed a process at Ruhr University Bochum in which genetically modified bacteria convert waste from the paper industry into plastic precursors. He was honoured by the German Chemical Society for this method.

Drones and robots could carry out planting work in forest areas in the future. Researchers at Kempten University of Applied Sciences want to realise this vision in the AI flagship project ‘DraAuf’.

This year's Joachim Herz Prize, worth €500,000, goes to physicist Hans Kleemann from TU Dresden for developing a bio-based and recyclable printed circuit board.

A comparative study by the University of Bayreuth shows that the cup plant is a more sustainable alternative to silage maize as an energy crop.

An international research team led by the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has discovered the genetic cause of late flowering in barley, which leads to higher yields.

Freiburg researchers have discovered a cellular growth switch that regulates the plant hormone auxin and thus plant growth in response to environmental changes.

In the ‘Mycobuild’ project, researchers at Hof University of Applied Sciences aim to demonstrate that thermal insulation materials made from fungal mycelium can also be produced industrially, economically and ecologically.

The Cologne-based start-up PAPACKS will work even more closely with the US specialty chemicals company Solenis in future to produce sustainable packaging based on hemp on an industrial scale.

The Berlin-based start-up Nosh.bio is launching a hybrid minced beef product based on koji. It is the first German company to demonstrate the use of koji protein in hybrid minced meat.

Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) have developed a new process that will make the production of methanol from biomass significantly easier and more decentralised in the future.

The VitiForst project is entering its second phase, in which researchers from the Universities of Hohenheim and Freiburg aim to further develop the combined cultivation of vines and trees and put it into practical use.

As part of the EARL soil protection project, a globally unique pilot plant has been inaugurated in Ruhstorf, Lower Bavaria. The aim is to investigate the effect of cultivation systems on soil erosion.

The biotech company Amsilk, which specialises in the production of spider silk proteins, has raised tens of millions in fresh capital in a financing round to expand production of the high-tech biomaterial.

As part of its EIP-Agri funding programme, the EU is supporting two projects at Bingen University of Applied Sciences that focus on innovation in agriculture – including a project that aims to digitally control irrigation in vegetable cultivation.