Bioeconomy News

Number of search results: 1076
Wandern im Schnee
Demand for environmentally friendly materials is also growing in the outdoor sector.

Hiking pole made from natural fibres

Researchers at the German Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf (DITF) are working with partners to demonstrate, using a hiking pole, that natural materials can also meet the high demands of outdoor use.

Wenn Nährstoffmangel besteht, können besonders effiziente Pflanzen ihre Wurzelarchitektur ändern und längere, seitlich ausscherende Wurzeln ausbilden. So haben sie einen größeren Radius, um die Nährstoffe aufzunehmen.
When nutrients are scarce, particularly efficient plants can alter their root architecture.

How plants search for nutrients

Researchers led by the Technical University of Munich have discovered how plants compensate for fluctuations in nutrients: they form lateral roots, thereby expanding their search radius.

Die Hosenbiene (Dasypoda) gräbt ihr Nest in sandigen Boden.
The sand wasp (Dasypoda) digs its nest in sandy soil.

Better protection for soils and pollinators

The EU project ProPollSoil is investigating how soil health and pollinators interact. To this end, an international team led by the Technical University of Munich is working on new soil management practices.

Übergabe des symbolischen Förderschecks zum Aufbau eines Biofabrikationszentrums in Stuttgart. V. l.: Prof. Dr. Steffen Rupp (stv. Institutsleiter Fraunhofer IGB), Wirtschaftsministerin Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Prof. Dr. Petra Kluger (Institutsleiterin Fraunhofer IGB)
Presentation of the symbolic funding cheque: from left: Steffen Rupp (Deputy Director of Fraunhofer IGB), Minister of Economic Affairs Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Petra Kluger (Director of FH IGB)

Bio-manufacturing centre for novel foods and biomedicine

The German federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg are providing around €3 million in funding to support the establishment of a biofabrication centre at Fraunhofer IGB in Stuttgart.

Eine Mikrotiterplatte mit Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Forschende von Max-Planck-Institut und Uni Marburg haben eine Testplattform entwickelt, mit der sich Tausende Algenlinien mit verändertem Chloroplasten-Genom parallel erzeugen und analysieren lassen.
A microtiter plate with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

High-speed plant research

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Philipps University of Marburg have developed an automated platform that enables high-throughput research into genetic changes in chloroplasts for the first time.

Hafer vor blauem Himmel

Oat genome decoded

A research team involving the Technical University of Munich has decoded the genomes of 33 different oat varieties, thereby recording the entire genetic diversity of this plant.

Dauerversuch "Ewiger Roggen"
For their study, the scientists are using the site of the long-term experiment ‘Perpetual Rye Cultivation’ at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

Stress test on rye provides insight into gene combination

A new study by the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg shows how rye rearranges its genes in response to environmental stress.

Integriertes Anbausystem mit Push-Pull-Technologie: Das Maisfeld ist von Brachiaria-Pflanzen umgeben, die Schädlinge aus der Hauptkultur anziehen.
Integrated cropping system with push-pull technology: The maize field is surrounded by Brachiaria plants, which attract pests from the main crop.

Luring pests away from plants

In the EU project UPSCALE, researchers led by Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) are demonstrating how insects can be gently lured away from crops using push-pull technology, thereby improving yields and soil fertility.

Biogasanlage
With the help of new technologies for converting fermentation residues, biogas plants could become sustainable methanol factories.

Green methanol from fermentation residues of biogas plants

The conversion of biogenic residues into sustainable chemicals such as green methanol is the focus of two new projects that the BMFTR is funding with around €1.8 million through the WIR! innovation alliance ‘biogeniV’.

Lasermodul mit Aktuator zur präzisen Ansteuerung der Unkrautpflänzchen

Removing weeds with high-tech

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy in Potsdam are developing a laser module that removes weeds from fields with pinpoint accuracy.

Paludikultur im Wietingsmoor als Beispiel für multifunktionale Landnutzung: Im Moor vereint die Paludikultur die Produktion von Biomasse (Schilf, Rohrkolben) für Baustoffe und Torfersatz mit dem Erhalt der Torfböden.
Paludiculture in Wietingsmoor as an example of multifunctional land use: In the moor, paludiculture combines the production of biomass (reeds, cattails) for building materials and peat substitutes with the preservation of peat soils.

Paludiculture: a model for multifunctional land use

Researchers at the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel demonstrate how multifunctional landscapes such as paludiculture can promote nature conservation and ecosystem restoration.

Mit einem bakteriellen Enzym könnte man zukünftig Plastik nachhaltig erzeugen.
In future, plastic could be produced sustainably using a bacterial enzyme.

Sustainable ethylene production with bacteria

Researchers from Marburg and Kaiserslautern have elucidated the structure of a bacterial enzyme that is capable of producing the basic chemical ethylene without releasing CO2.

Pflanzmischung: 50% Luzerne im Gemenge mit 50% Spitzwegerich mit je 200 keimfähigen Körnern/m² zum 3. Schnitt
Plant mix: 50% alfalfa mixed with 50% ribwort plantain

Plant mix is worthwhile

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.

Flüssigkultur von Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Liquid culture of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Sustainable chemicals with microbial cell factories

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.

Drohne über dem Feld
The AI Living Lab for Agriculture aims to transfer AI applications directly into agricultural practice.

AI Living Lab for Agriculture launched

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.

Wildtyp (links) und gentechnisch verbesserte Arabidopsispflanze (rechts) nach Trockenstress.
Wild type (left) and genetically modified Arabidopsis plant (right) after drought stress.

How plants conserve water during droughts

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.

Lederrollen
In FABULOSE, eleven European partners are developing new scalable and bio-based production routes for animal-free leather alternatives.

Leather made from bacterial cellulose

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 kann sich freuen: Er erhielt den Preis für Biokonversion nachwachsender Rohstoffe der Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker.

Prize for bacterial plastic factory

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.

Drohne über dem Wald
Drones could also be used for reforestation in the future.

Reforestation using drones and AI

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’.

Von der Natur inspiriert: Vom Blatt zur Leiterplatte
Inspired by nature: from leaves to circuit boards

Joachim Herz Prize for circuit boards made from leaves

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.