Bioeconomy News

Researchers in Jena have been able to clarify how the soil fungus Mortierella alpina naturally protects plants from predators and could thus make agriculture more sustainable.

At the 17th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin, agricultural and food policy experts will be looking for solutions on how to make the bioeconomy sustainable in order to secure the world's food supply and combat climate crises.

Fraunhofer researchers provide evidence that plants from paludiculture are also suitable for the production of packaging and can therefore replace wood as a raw material for paper production.

Bioprocess engineers at TU Berlin are showing how fish farming in aquacultures can become more sustainable. Omega-3 fatty acids for fish feed were obtained from plant residues and with the help of bacteria and algae, which can replace fishmeal and fish oil.

In the TOPKO project, researchers at Oldenburg University of Applied Sciences want to develop biochar and hydrochar from agricultural residues such as green waste and manure in order to replace peat in horticulture.

With the help of hydrothermal humification, researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy in Potsdam have succeeded in artificially producing humic substances, which are important for soil health, and making them usable as fertiliser for agriculture.

After three years of research, the ‘zirkulierBAR’ project shows that it is technically feasible and ecologically sensible to process human excrement as fertiliser for agriculture. The results have now been published in a handbook.

Fraunhofer researchers from Freising are developing a food foam based on legumes to replace traditional egg whites from hens' eggs in baked goods.

Jena researchers reveal how well tiny green algae can adapt to their environment – without interfering with their genetic material. The observations from the study could benefit biotechnology.

The Munich-based food tech start-up Planet A Foods has received 30 million US dollars in a Series B financing round to further increase its production of cocoa-free chocolate.

In the RoKKa project, partners from research and industry have demonstrated how new processes can be used to extract high-quality raw materials for the bioeconomy using wastewater from sewage treatment plants, while at the same time reducing CO₂ emissions.

The Hamburg-based biotech start-up Infinite Roots wants to utilise whey as a nutrient for mycelium fermentation and thus pave the way for new alternative dairy products.

A research team led by Marburg microbiologist Tobias Erb has found a new way to effectively fix CO₂ and transfer it into the cell metabolism. A completely new enzyme was designed for this purpose and optimised through evolution in the laboratory.

As part of the new funding guideline ‘Future technologies for the industrial bioeconomy’, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding innovative projects that address bio-based products and processes for a climate-neutral and recyclable industry.

The Wetscapes 2.0 project is receiving 10 million euros from the German Research Foundation to research complex processes in the rewetting of fenland landscapes.

Under the leadership of the Technical University of Munich, an international research team has developed a method with which proteins can be designed even better on a computer and produced with the desired properties.

The Bavarian company Electrochaea has concluded a licence agreement and technology transfer for its patented power-to-gas technology with Japan's Hitachi Ltd.

Two innovative projects at the University of Koblenz show how technological innovations and fast 5G data transmission can make viticulture more climate-resilient and sustainable.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is participating as a sponsor in FutureFoodS, a European partnership on safe and sustainable food systems. A new call for proposals has now been launched.

Researchers at Munich University of Applied Sciences have developed an AI-based method that enables a precise inventory and development forecast of forests.

The start-up Phaeosynt from Hanover wants to develop a pregnancy test with antibodies from diatoms. The team is being funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation.

According to a ZALF study, a mix of economic incentives and adapted land use models could drive the rewetting of peatlands in Europe and make the cultivation of paludiculture more attractive for farmers.

Researchers at the University of Rostock were able to demonstrate the positive environmental changes following the rewetting of a coastal moor on the island of Rügen using the diatom.

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.