Bioeconomy News

The EU Commission's amended proposal to relax genetic engineering legislation for certain genome-edited plants was adopted by the European Parliament by a narrow majority.

A global report involving researchers from Potsdam shows how the global economy would benefit from an agricultural and food transition and underlines the urgent need to revise the political framework.

The Berlin start-up Vyld has raised millions from investors as part of an early-stage financing round, thereby securing the further development of its seaweed products.

The Hamburg-based biotech company Infinite Roots - formerly Mushlabs - has secured 58 million US dollars in a Series B financing round for the development and production of new meat substitutes based on mushroom mycelium.

Under the leadership of the University of Magdeburg, a European research consortium wants to combine two medical imaging techniques for the first time and make them usable for agriculture.

A new EU project involving researchers from Ruhr University Bochum is focusing on the development of unused biomass resources in Europe.

A new English-language Master's degree course that combines agricultural science, economics and politics will start at the Technical University of Munich in the winter semester 2024/2025 and is the only one of its kind in Europe.

Regional hop harvest residues are the raw material used by a founding team at the Technical University of Munich to develop sustainable building materials. Acoustic panels made from hops are to be launched on the market this year.

A Franco-German research team has used genome editing to produce rice plants that are resistant to the Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV).

The resource database of the German Biomass Research Center now provides a complete overview of all biogenic residual and waste materials available in Germany and the EU.

Soils are a key resource for the bioeconomy. However, climate change and industrial agriculture have damaged around 60% of soils in Europe, as the recently published Soil Atlas 2024 reveals.

Paludiculture in rewetted fens not only promotes biodiversity, but also provides a new habitat for endangered animal and plant species. This is shown by a study by the University of Greifswald.

The microbe Electronema is a current-conducting bacteria. They promote the breakdown of pollutants and reduce the formation of greenhouse gases in seas and lakes.

Researchers have elucidated the structure of the enzyme complex iron nitrogenase in order to better utilize its function.

For the development of resource-saving sodium-ion batteries based on lignin and hemicellulose, researchers at Aalen University are receiving around one million euros from the Carl Zeiss Foundation.

Max Planck researcher Caroline Gutjahr from Potsdam has been awarded one of the coveted Consolidator Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) for her research into the coexistence of plants and symbiotic fungi in soil.

The state government has decided to set up a Bioeconomy Council to drive forward the expansion of a bio-based and sustainable economy in North Rhine-Westphalia. The 15-member advisory body will begin its work in January 2024.

Molecular biologist Tobias Erb receives the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation, endowed with 2.5 million euros, for his pioneering work in the field of synthetic biology.

Researchers at Munich University of Applied Sciences have developed a process that for the first time enables the efficient cultivation of lime-producing bacteria and thus the commercial use of "self-healing concrete".

The Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant is discontinuing the loss-making production of cellulosic ethanol from straw at its plant in Romania, which was only opened in 2022. Corresponding activities in Straubing, Munich and Planegg will also be shut down.

Three federal ministers were present at the Bioeconomy Forum in Berlin. In front of more than 200 participants, they emphasized the potential of a sustainable, bio-based economy and made it clear what is important now.

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the recipients of this year's Consolidator Grants. These include four pioneering research projects from Germany that are relevant to the bioeconomy.

As part of the "Bioeconomy International" funding initiative, the BMBF is supporting the establishment of global research alliances for the eleventh time.

An international research team was able to prove that on grassland it is not the quantity of plant biomass but its diversity that is decisive for carbon storage in the soil.

With the commissioning of the first pilot plant for the production of sustainable proteins, the Hamburg-based biotechnology company has taken a further step towards commercialization.

Lignin-coated natural fibers can replace highly resistant synthetic fibers in some civil engineering applications.

The first cooperation projects of the BMBF's Bioeconomy International funding measure were launched ten years ago. To mark the anniversary, the BMBF hosted a conference in Bonn. The upcoming round of calls for proposals was also discussed there.

Interested parties can now apply for the fifth Innovation Challenge of the International Competence Centre for Sustainable Chemistry (ISC3). We are looking for solutions in the field of sustainable chemistry for textiles.

Two independent ESA research teams have come to the conclusion that the production of cultured meat in space as a protein-rich food source would be particularly worthwhile on long-haul missions.

At a conference organised by the industry association Weiße Biotechnologie e.V. (IWBio) in Berlin, stakeholders discussed the potential and innovation obstacles of biotechnological alternatives to meat, milk and egg products.

More information on the benefits of insects as food and their sustainable production can help to minimise reservations, as an EU country study shows.

At the grand finale of the iGEM competition for synthetic biology in Paris, the university teams from Braunschweig, Dresden, Freiburg and Heidelberg scored particularly well. The other German teams also came home with special prizes and medals.

The Grand Jamboree of iGEM, the international student competition on synthetic biology, starts in Paris on 2 November. There will be 19 university teams from Germany at the start. All projects at a glance.

At a status seminar organised by the BMBF funding programme "Future Technologies for the Industrial Bioeconomy", research associations presented their diverse approaches to developing biohybrid technologies.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) wants to massively advance the breeding of climate-adapted and high-performance crops. Funding is being provided for alliances and junior research groups that use the entire spectrum of modern breeding techniques – including genome editing.

Diatoms have developed a way to grow successfully even in nutrient-poor marine regions.

Together with partners, Fraunhofer researchers want to develop material-saving processes for the production of durable components made of fibre-reinforced biopolymers and thus reduce the CO₂ content in vehicle components by up to 50%.

The Potsdam Science Park Conference focused on innovations for the food industry and medicine. Around 160 interested people came to find out about new developments on the Golm Campus and in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region.

The chemical company BASF SE is investing a high double-digit million amount in a new fermentation plant in Ludwigshafen for the production of sustainable crop protection products.

For a long time, the living environment in the fermenters of biogas plants was a black box. An EU consortium with the participation of researchers from Cottbus has used metagenome analysis to track down the most important microbial biogas producers.

As part of an EU project, Fraunhofer ISC is working on a bio-based alternative to so-called 'Forever Chemicals' for packaging and textiles.

A Max Planck team from Bremen has studied a methane microbe living in oil fields that can elegantly convert CO₂ into formic acid.

Temperatures in the ground are rising faster than in the air. This is the conclusion of a study in which researchers also call for a reassessment of the effects of heat extremes in the ground.

The enzyme PET46, which originates from archaea, decomposes medium- and long-chain plastic molecules, as a research team from Germany has discovered.

A European research network aims to optimize ozone tolerance, photosynthetic performance and stem quality in barley.

With Darwinibacteriales, researchers in the EU Micro4Biogas project have identified a new group of anaerobic bacteria that could be the key to optimized biogas production.

Just in time for the UN Summit on Agenda 2030 in New York, the German Federal Ministry of Research has published its own sustainability strategy - and the bioeconomy plays an important role in it.

Heidelberg-based Cultivated B is the first company in the world to submit an application to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for approval of a cell-based sausage product.

Artificial shading could help breed better, higher-yielding varieties.

Markus Jeschek, Professor of Synthetic Microbiology at the University of Regensburg, has received the European Research Council's 1.5 million euro ERC Starting Grant for the development of novel biosensors based on proteins and RNA.

A pilot plant for the production of high-performance fibers from beech pulp went into operation at the Technikum Laubholz in Göppingen.

Researchers at the University of Hohenheim develop a bio-based and recyclable plastic for food packaging from agricultural residues.

Bayer AG invests 220 million euros in a new research and development center at the Monheim site.

The fermentation of liquid fractions from residual materials such as liquid manure taps unused biomass potential.

Using micro-computed tomography, a research team has succeeded in observing the growth of mold cultures in the bioreactor in 3D.

In the Leuna100 project, the partners involved want to combine technological innovations into a process suitable for industrial use.

Until 2010, biodiversity in European rivers was still recovering - since then, this development has stagnated. An international study shows that biodiversity is under pressure, especially downstream from urban areas and agricultural land.

Giessen researchers have developed a new system for the tailored control of gene expression in bacteria. Bioplastics production would also benefit from this.

According to a recent study, microplastic particles are not only blown by the wind, but also enter the atmosphere directly from seawater.

The cooling evaporation effect is reduced when plants shift their photosynthesis activity to the morning hours during a heat wave. The researchers have now been able to demonstrate this using satellite data.