Almost every second bicycle sold in Germany in 2021 was a pedelec. As in the previous year, this represents an increase of around two million. The battery is an essential component of such electric bicycles - and at the same time a significant weight factor. With financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability (LBF) and Ansmann AG, a German manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, have now developed a bio-based lightweight alternative.
Even state bankruptcies seem possible as a result of biodiversity loss. And even states that are less dependent on biological resources and ecosystem services could be downgraded in their credit rating.
Current methodologies published and applied by leading credit rating agencies (CRAs) do not explicitly incorporate biodiversity and nature-related risks. Omitting them may ultimately undermine market stability.
Plants need not only sunlight but also water from the soil to grow. However, the past three years of heat and drought have upset this necessary balance. The consequences are already manifold: in addition to crop failures, pests such as the bark beetle have decimated the tree population of forests in many places. A study by researchers from Germany, the Netherlands and Australia now shows what impact climate change will have on plants and ecosystems.
On July 4, 2022, the ceremonial opening of the new technical center at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in Rostock took place. With the possibility of carrying out chemical experiments on a kilogram scale, it is intended to bridge the gap between basic research and practice. The federal government and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania provided a total of around 12 million euros for the construction, which took three and a half years to complete.
This year's asparagus season has recently come to an end. Although the season fell far short of expectations for asparagus farmers, huge quantities of asparagus peels ended up in the waste. A research team at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts wondered whether these residual materials could not be put to better use in the sense of a biobased circular economy.
Husks, the mostly unused hulls of cereal grains, represent an organic alternative to Styrofoam. They can be used to create a natural packaging solution that can be produced regionally from natural residues and developed to suit specific shapes. After use, this can be recycled or returned to the life cycle - due to its composition of purely organic components, the material should be biodegradable and home compostable; the corresponding certification is currently awaited.
The Wacker Group hopes to generate sales of around EUR 1 billion in 2030 from the Wacker Biosolutions business segment, which bundles biotechnology activities. A now announced investment in the double-digit millions is expected to contribute to this: the Group plans to build and commission a Biotechnology Center at its Munich site by 2024.
For decades, the German Founder Award has been promoting entrepreneurial achievements and business ideas that are particularly capable of meeting the challenges of the future and sustainably changing entire industries. The award, which was established in 1997, is presented annually in the categories Student, StartUp, Newcomer and Lifetime Achievement. The jury has now once again selected founders whose business models challenge traditional methods. This year's winners include the bioeconomy start-up Traceless Materials.
Mistletoe branches are considered lucky charms in many places. Here, the white berried mistletoe (Viscum album) with its white berry fruits is particularly widespread. It grows on deciduous trees such as birches, poplars or apple trees and is considered a semi-parasitic plant because it extracts water and the mineral salts it contains from the host plant. The white berries of mistletoe have now attracted the interest of materials scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPIKG) in Potsdam.