Wood as a building material has a significantly smaller ecological footprint than conventional materials and is therefore becoming increasingly important. Compared to houses made of steel and concrete, trees store CO₂ emissions. Particularly in view of a growing world population, wooden houses in cities could make an important contribution to climate protection, as a study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows.
 

Bio-based - but not quite. That is often the case for sustainable building materials such as biofiber composites. Although natural fibers with excellent ecological and technical properties exist, resin is ultimately needed to turn them into the desired material. Until now, petroleum-based resin often had to be used because suitable sustainable alternatives are limited. Soon, things could be different: In the OrangeOil research project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, researchers are developing a bio-based epoxy resin.

On land, agriculture urgently needs to become more sustainable for environmental and climate protection; in the water, many marine regions are considered overfished. But humanity's demand for food will continue to rise. One hitherto little-used source that can be both healthy and sustainable is algae, among which are marine grapes. Researchers at the University of Bremen and the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) have now discovered a way to significantly increase their nutritional value.

Weeds are a problem for many farms. In conventional farming, heavy equipment and pesticides are used to try to kill the unwanted plants or keep them in check. In organic farming, no chemicals are used. Here, the weed problem is solved mechanically or thermally. But even this method is not ideal: it is often expensive and can also disturb soil organisms and promote erosion. Researchers at the University of Rostock have now taken a closer look at weed vegetation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV) in a large-scale field trial. Eleven organic farms from MV were involved.

Fruit pits from plums, cherries, peaches or apricots usually end up in the trash. In fruit processing, over 500 million kilos of pits are thrown away every year in Europe alone. For Austrian start-up Kern Tec GmbH, this is a source of raw materials for new foods. The potential of this upcycling idea has also convinced the system service provider BayWa. Through its investment arm, BayWa Venture GmbH, the Munich-based company is now joining the food tech start-up as a partner and investor.

Building a bridge to the future - the project participants in the EU research project "Smart Circular Bridge" have taken this literally. To address the sustainability deficit of many established building materials, the experts have developed a walkway and bike path bridge made of a biocomposite material. The University of Stuttgart is also involved in this project.

Microalgae can produce many valuable substances, from dyes to omega-3 fatty acids or proteins, and are therefore a source of hope for the bioeconomy. They are not only used by manufacturers of food, animal feed and cosmetics. Microalgae are also becoming increasingly important for the production of biofuel and new plastics. The cultivation of these aquatic plants could also open up new business areas in agriculture.