Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a major component of the cannabis plant and is known primarily for its intoxicating effects. In a weakened form, the natural substance has also long been used in medicine to alleviate neurological diseases and pain. However, isolating the natural substance in pure form from the hemp plant is very costly. Therefore, such plant compounds are increasingly produced biotechnologically using bacteria such as Escherichia coli or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Many people associate Katjes primarily with fruit gums and licorice. But the confectionery company from Emmerich am Rhein has also been one of the pioneers of vegan confectionery for years. The company has long dispensed with animal gelatin in the manufacture of its products. As early as 2016, it converted its entire Katjes range in Germany to vegetarian products. With Katjes Greenfood, the confectionery manufacturer has also established a platform to further promote plant-based foods.

In its overall balance, natural gas is a similarly strong driver of climate change as petroleum. An alternative to this would be climate-neutral methane that is compatible with the existing infrastructure. Electrochaea, based in Planegg near Munich, promises to produce just such methane, and has now received €14.9 million from the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) for further growth. This brings the Series D funding round to a total of €36 million. According to Electrochaea, this is the world's largest financing round for a power-to-methane company.

As part of the bioeconomy strategy published in 2020 "Zukunft.Bioökonomie.Bayern" ("Future. Bioeconomy. Bavaria"), the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched a funding program to strengthen the industrial bioeconomy. With "Bioeconomy Scale-Up", companies are supported in setting up production facilities that use renewable raw materials with high added value and positive climate effects. These include biorefinery concepts and bioproduct plants.

Since 2014, the Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM) has annually selected a significant organism from the field of microbiology. With this year's decision for the eukaryotic unicellular organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the choice has fallen on one of the oldest and best-known production organisms in biotechnology.

Chocolate, potato chips and organic fuel all have one thing in common - they all contain the popular resource palm oil. However, the cultivation of palm oil is controversial. Worldwide, around 19 million hectares of rainforest have already been cleared for this purpose. This not only releases large quantities of the greenhouse gas CO₂, but also destroys important habitats for flora and fauna.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator has distributed €627 million to 99 startups and SMEs in its latest and largest funding round to date. Twelve German companies were among the beneficiaries - including BIOWEG, CO2BioClean and Genome Biologics. The funds come from the Horizon Europe program.

Whether cables, car tires, packaging or children's toys: many everyday objects are made of plastic. The versatility of plastic is enabled by plasticizers, which not only make the material softer, but also more flexible, elastic or resilient. But plasticizers, like conventional plastics, also consist largely of petroleum, which is neither climate-friendly nor infinitely available. In the "Bioplasticizers" project, partners from research and industry have therefore been researching a sustainable alternative since 2017.

Around one third of Germany's agricultural land is used for meadows and pastures. In its natural state, grassland is one of the world's most species-rich ecosystems and, according to experts, can even compete with the species richness of rainforests. Meadows and pastures are not only an important source of food for insects, they are also resistant to storms and can store carbon in the soil for a long time.