Digital watering of vegetables

Innovative solutions that are used in agricultural practice have been promoted by the European Union for years through the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability programme, or EIP-Agri for short. In what is now the third round of funding, Bingen University of Applied Sciences has succeeded with two projects and secured funding totalling 1.5 million euros.

BRAIN Biotech: Alliance for new nature-based ingredients

Consumers are increasingly paying attention to natural ingredients in food and beverages. This trend is prompting manufacturers to use more nature-based recipes. The Zwingenberg-based biotechnology company BRAIN Biotech has now agreed to collaborate with Corbion, a Dutch company specialising in natural ingredients. The aim of the collaboration is to advance the development of novel bio-based antimicrobial compounds and their derivatives for use in the food industry.

Breakthrough for bio-inspired catalysis

For years, researchers have been working on using bacteria to convert the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a raw material for the chemical industry. As part of the Unifying Systems in Catalysis (UniSysCat) Cluster of Excellence, researchers in Berlin have now succeeded in elucidating the molecular mechanism by which bacteria efficiently convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide (CO) for the first time. According to Christian Lorent's team at TU Berlin, this represents a breakthrough in catalysis research.

Better bread and beer thanks to seed inoculation

One in eleven people is undernourished. The main causes of this are distribution issues and how arable land is used, such as for producing animal feed rather than food. Against this backdrop, it is alarming that climate research predicts fewer and fewer locations will offer optimal agricultural conditions. Plant breeders are therefore researching new varieties that can cope with drought or grow on saline soils, for example.

New research offensive for sustainable plant protection

Modern agriculture faces numerous challenges. In addition to ensuring food security, climate and environmental protection must also be taken into account, biodiversity preserved and economic aspects considered. At the same time, climate-related weather extremes are leading to a greater spread of invasive insect species and the pathogens they transmit, against which plants are increasingly developing resistance.

Forging international research alliances on the bioeconomy

More and more countries see the bioeconomy as an opportunity to master the challenges of the future, such as climate change, food security, and environmental and resource protection. However, a resource-efficient and competitive economy requires the bioeconomy to be viewed in a global context. Close cooperation and worldwide research collaborations are also necessary to exploit the potential of the bioeconomy.

Waste2Value: Microbes for sustainability

Dyes made from CO2 and sunlight, fuels made from pizza scraps, or bioplastics made from bread scraps: The Waste2Value joint project relies on bacteria and microalgae to convert waste materials from agriculture, food production, and industry into valuable chemicals and materials and to promote structural change in the Western Palatinate region. On August 12, Minister President Alexander Schweizer was briefed on the research results at the Pirmasens campus of the University of Kaiserslautern.