Chicken substitute from soy for restaurants

From sausage spreads to cold cuts or burgers: plant-based sausage and meat alternatives are now part of the standard range in many supermarkets. However, they are still the exception on the menus of German restaurants. That could soon change. After the Netherlands and the UK, Singapore-based food tech startup Next Gen Foods, led by German co-founder Timo Recker, is now launching its plant-based chicken brand TiNDLE in Germany.

Phytic acid is biobased and surprisingly versatile

Phytic acid is a molecule that many plants produce to store phosphorus and that can interfere with digestion in humans because, as a complexing agent, it binds metals insolubly and thus impedes their absorption via the digestive tract. However, the NPBioPhos research project has revealed that the molecule appears to have long unrecognized talents.

The search for the perfect plasticizer

Rubber ducks are mostly made of the plastic PVC and a remarkably high proportion of plasticizers: 35% to 40%. And not only rubber ducks need plasticizers, but everything from children's toys to packaging material, plastic components or medical products. Anyone who wants sustainable, bio-based plastics as an alternative to petrochemical products therefore also needs bio-based solutions for plasticizers. This is precisely what project partners from the Technical University of Hamburg, the University of Bielefeld and the chemical company BASF have set out to achieve.

Biogas without carbon dioxide emissions

Methane from biogas plants is supposed to be a more climate-friendly alternative to natural gas. However, besides methane, carbon dioxide is also produced in the biogas plant. Although this is biogenic and therefore less problematic than CO2 from fossil sources, these emissions must be avoided if global warming is to be limited to 1.5 degrees. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a process for this, which they now want to scale up step by step.

Measure metabolism of individual cells

Whole-cell biocatalysts - sounds complicated, but simply means that cells of an organimus are used to produce valuable products - such as yeast for beer or bread. Even complex chemical molecules such as pharmaceuticals can be produced in this way. The microorganisms grow in a bioreactor or fermenter and produce the desired products through their metabolism. Researchers have long been asking the question: Are all cells equally productive or is there a kind of "division of labor"?

"The ecological footprint must incorporate all climate factors"

Emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2 are responsible for most of global warming. However, land and oceans currently absorb only about half of these emissions. So-called CO2 removal measures such as renaturation of peatlands, coal phase-out, energy-efficient building refurbishment and climate-friendly mobility are intended to counteract global warming. But are these measures really enough to rebalance carbon sources and sinks? No - says Nadine Mengis.