Bioeconomy News

As part of an international research project, researchers in Braunschweig are investigating how seaweed can be successfully cultivated in offshore facilities in order to relieve the pressure on coastal areas.

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) in Halle (Saale) and the University of Cologne have discovered a new group of defence substances in barley that protects its roots against fungal attack.

After two years of research, the French company Carbios and the textile consortium Fibre-to-Fibre present the world's first garment made entirely from enzymatically recycled plastic and textile polymers.

A European research team with German participation wants to show that the cultivation of plants can make contaminated soil fit again and that their biomass is suitable for high-quality textiles.

How do plants control their guard cells and thus their water loss? Scientists at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg have made discoveries that could be of interest for future agriculture.

The Volkswagen Foundation is supporting six projects with around 7.8 million euros that are developing innovative approaches for the utilisation of biogenic and recyclable waste materials in the sense of a circular economy - including five projects on bioeconomy.

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock have developed a catalyst that can synthesise amines – which are important for the chemical industry – from used cooking oil in a single step.

Deposits of plastic particles in the soil can endanger the behaviour of bees and thus the function of agricultural landscapes and global food security. This is shown by an international study involving German researchers.

Max Planck researchers in Potsdam have worked with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to breed rice varieties with a high protein content. Among other things, the CRISPR-Cas gene scissors were used.

Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock have joined forces with adhesives specialist Henkel to develop new bio-based adhesives that can be removed again.

Using Raman spectroscopy, researchers in Jena have succeeded in analysing the interaction between the green alga Ulva and its bacterial community in real time without disturbing the sensitive interaction.

New wheat varieties utilise nitrogen better and can deliver higher yields under current climatic conditions. This is the conclusion of an international study conducted in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich.

The first projects with Queensland have been launched as part of the ‘Bioeconomy International’ research cooperation programme.

Thanks to increasingly sophisticated tools, bioengineers can now not only construct individual organisms, but even design complex microbial communities. A team of authors looks into the future of synthetic biology.

The ‘Future Lab Agriculture’ project presents initial results on the concept of spot farming, highlighting both the potential and current obstacles to its use.

Researchers at the University of Tübingen have used CO₂ and green electricity to produce valuable proteins and vitamins that can be used to make meat substitutes.

Good yields and product quality can also be achieved in plant cultivation without the use of synthetic chemical pesticides. This is shown by field trials conducted by the NOcsPS research consortium.

On the former site of Tegel Airport, researchers are testing which plant mix is best suited for so-called evaporation beds and thus for the realisation of sponge cities.

BASF is testing solutions for ‘climate-optimised’ agricultural production with practitioners in field trials around the world. The goal of reducing the carbon footprint by 30% has been achieved in some cases, the company reports.

A research consortium has succeeded in producing laboratory meat from stem cells obtained painlessly from the umbilical cord blood of piglets.

Together with the Thünen Institute, Fraunhofer researchers are developing AI-based software for the microscopic identification of wood species. The aim is to ensure that timber products originate from legal trade.

Retailer REWE is one of the new investors in Berlin start-up Formo: the company, which specializes in animal-free cheese alternatives, has raised fresh capital as part of a Series B financing round.

The Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) are pooling their expertise in potato research in order to increase the genetic resources of this important food crop.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed a solar module in which individual components are made from renewable raw materials and can be recycled at the end of their service life.

In the newly launched I-Robi project, researchers at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts want to develop new harvesting and utilization concepts for rushes and demonstrate the potential of this renewable raw material for industry.

The Munich-based power-to-gas company Electrochaea has successfully brought its technology for microbial biomethane production to industrial scale with EU funding from the EIC Accelerator.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research continues to support international cooperation in bioeconomy research. “Bioeconomy International 2025” focuses on alliances with São Paulo/Brazil, Queensland/Australia, Thailand and Vietnam.

German companies that produce meat and dairy alternatives based on plants, fermentation and cell cultures were able to raise a total of EUR 74 million in the first half of 2024, more than twice as much capital as in the whole of 2023.

Last year, Clariant announced the closure of its commercial biorefinery in Podari, Romania. The contract manufacturer Corden BioChem will now take over operations and convert the plant.

The newly developed HypoWave system for hydroponic vegetable cultivation with recycled wastewater is now being used in a large-scale trial on a farm in the district of Gifhorn.

Researchers at the University of Siegen have succeeded in producing a beam construction made of Miscanthus grass that is more resilient than conventional beams made of solid wood.

An international research team led by Heidelberg University has succeeded for the first time in obtaining biocompatible materials from microalgae for high-resolution 3D laser printing.

Researchers from Zittau provide proof that hemp fibers can be a real alternative to glass fibers in composite materials.

In a position paper, the industry association BIO Deutschland calls for measures to accelerate the implementation of bioeconomic activities in the industry. Market entry for bio-based products must also be made easier.

In the run-up to the meeting of the G20 countries in Brazil in September, the G20 science academies, including Lepoldina, defined measures for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals - also for the bioeconomy.

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have changed the sensitivity of bacterial systems for controlling gene activity to red light, opening up new possibilities in the biotechnological application of bacteria.

Jena-based natural product researcher Christian Hertweck has been awarded the ERC Advanced Grant by the European Research Council for his pioneering research into new active substances from anaerobic bacteria.

Fraunhofer researchers want to use biogenic carbon from biomass as a carbon sink for the production of sustainable concrete and bricks.

As part of a newly launched EU project, researchers at the University of Hanover want to tap into the benefits of pulses in order to promote the acceptance and cultivation of beans, lentils and the like in European agriculture.

An international research team involving the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research is calling for new sustainable cultivation practices to improve nitrogen uptake in wheat cultivation instead of applying more fertilizer.