“Environmental policy is part of agriculture.” This was a clear message by Christian Schmidt, the Federal Minister of Agriculture, at the recent  “Dialogue for the future: Agriculture and Food”. Thus far this sector is under a lot of pressure due to its high CO₂ Emissions. The demands for more sustainability in terms of farming and animal husbandry have been at the top of the political agenda for some time now. However, there are already a number of farms that fully embrace a resource-saving and environmentally conscious production.

Fossil resources are becoming scarce and their use is a burden on the environment. Therefore new technologies to replace these resources are needed. Part of the replacement can be achieved by employing electrical power production based on renewable resources, such as wind and solar energy. Additionally, renewable feedstocks and waste streams have to be considered as valuable precursors for the production of commodities and fuels.

An international consortium including scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben has published the genome sequence of the pearl millet, a drought resistant crop plant that is one of the main food sources in arid and semi-arid areas.

Last May Clariant announced a merger with the US company Huntsman regarding biobased chemicals. And now there are again news out of the headquarters: the Swiss chemical company licensed their Sunliquid-Technology for the conversion of biowaste into ethanol to the Slovakian bioethanol specialist Enviral.

How can the industry of tomorrow become more sustainable and the new direction be communicated to the public? That was only one of the main questions and topics raised and discussed during the second international bioeconomy conference in mid-September in Stuttgart-Hohenheim.

Global warming and climate change are driven by greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis, plants and algae act as natural air filters, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and replacing it with oxygen. About half of the photosynthesis on Earth is performed in the ocean by single-celled algae. Plants and algae both use the enzyme Rubisco to bind carbon dioxide.

Wood is a very versatile material that can be reused multiple times. However, such recycling or cascade utilisation is very rare in Europe. In Germany, old wood is mostly used for energy generation and is thus simply burnt instead of using it for instance as building material. 15 project partners from five different countries banned together in the EU project CaReWood (Cascading Recovered Wood) to improve resource efficiency by recycling used wood via cascade utilisation.

Green algae (Chlamydomonas) can form a slimy layer on almost any surface and even cause blockages in water-treatment tanks. But they can also be quite useful. For years now algae have been cultivated in bioreactors, large facilities comprised of glass tubes, to produce biofuels. However, using their small hairs, also known as flagella, green algae adhere even to these surfaces. The result: a green biofilm forms on the walls of the glass tubes of the bioreactor. Subsequently, less light penetrates into the reactor.

Due to climate change more and more arable land is drying out, and subsequently requires irrigation in order to grow crops. However, steady and heavy irrigation causes soil salination, because the salts that are dissolved in the water are diffused into the soil and remain there after the water has evaporated. The salt in turn stunts the growth of the crops and, if left untreated, can even turn soils infertile.

The specialty chemicals company Evonik opened a new production site for its Evonik Advanced Botanicals subsidiary in Tours, France. Evonik is active in over 100 countries and the subsidiary was originally founded in 2016, when Evonik acquired the French startup Alkion Biopharma SAS, an expert in biotechnological production of plant-based active ingredients.