Sustainable management of grassland in the Alps

Whether heat, drought or heavy rain, climate change is presenting agriculture with ever greater challenges. Even in the Alpine region, where it is often cooler and rains more frequently, the effects on meadows, pastures and alpine pastures are noticeable. But what does climate change mean for so-called grassland production? And above all, how can farmers in the Alpine region react to these changes? Researchers led by Ralf Kiese from the Campus Alpin of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) dealt with these questions in the BonaRes project SUSALPSII.

„Queensland pushes its Biofutures industry“

The German government has formed research alliances with the state of Queensland in northeastern Australia on future topics such as green hydrogen and the bioeconomy (e.g. Bioeconomy International). Ian O'Hara is a professor at the Faculty of Engineering at Queensland University of Technology. He led the development of the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant (MRBPP) – a unique publicly accessible biomanufacturing pilot scale research facility.

With Fungilyzer to the Bioengineering World Cup

It is a challenge that young researchers have been taking up with enthusiasm for years: the international student competition for synthetic biology iGEM. This year, the world championship in bioengineering celebrates its 20th anniversary. 350 teams from around the world will again travel to Boston in October to compete with their projects. Fourteen teams from colleges and universities in Germany are also entering the race for the coveted places, including young researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU).

When bacteria communicate with fungi

Humans, animals, plants and single-celled organisms use small biomolecules as signaling substances to send messages or trigger reactions. "Microorganisms produce a variety of such substances, and we are just beginning to understand this language," says Axel Brakhage, director of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology and professor at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. He and his research group have found that representatives of the bacterial genus Streptomyces are particularly capable of communication.

Veganz relies on Fraunhofer indoor farming system

Already to be found in some supermarkets: glass mini-farms in which lettuce or herbs grow on several floors in a special nutrient solution without pesticides under LED light and are sold freshly harvested directly on site. This controlled and resource-conserving plant cultivation in so-called vertical farms is not only sustainable, but the yields are also significantly higher, according to experts. For companies in the food industry, urban plant cultivation thus opens up entirely new opportunities.

UPM cooperates with VAUDE in the production of sustainable textiles

More than half of the materials used in the textile industry are made from fossil raw materials. Polyester and polyurethane fibers, which are cheap but energy-intensive and pollute the environment, are particularly popular. The production of bio-based chemicals on an industrial scale is now intended to drive the textile industry's turnaround toward sustainability. To this end, the Finnish specialty chemicals company UPM Biochemicals and the German outdoor specialist VAUDE have agreed on a partnership.

Electrobiotechnology: Bacteria use hydrogen for biosynthesis

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has a bad reputation as a greenhouse gas. In order to achieve the climate targets, experts believe that it is far from enough to reduce emissions of the climate gas. Some of it must be permanently bound. There is great potential in the material use of CO2 as a raw material, because the carbon it contains is an important basic material for industry. Sustainable and innovative ways of using CO2 could therefore relieve the climate and benefit industry at the same time.

Biodegradable support structures for 3D printing

From prostheses to children's toys, car parts or sporting goods: The possible applications of 3D printing seem limitless and show how popular this technology has become. The range of plastics used in this process is constantly growing, and with it the potential to manufacture bio-based products from them. However, in order to print highly complex three-dimensional objects, so-called support structures are often required.