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.
