Silage films made from biopolymers

After the harvest, straw bales wrapped in white plastic film dominate the landscape of many fields. In these so-called silage bales, fodder crops such as corn are turned into food for cattle through lactic acid fermentation. But the films used for this purpose are anything but environmentally friendly. They are made of conventional plastic and have been shown to leave traces of microplastics in the soil. "In addition - and this is particularly regrettable - they have so far been purely disposable and thus bad for the eco-balance," explains Isabell Kleiber.

High performance without oxygen

Biotechnology is no longer a new field, yet innovative processes are constantly emerging. Many of them could reach market maturity, but there is no industrial implementation routine in place yet. Among these are bioelectrochemical processes. The core of microbial bioelectrochemistry is the interaction of microorganisms with electrodes. Some bacteria can breathe with electrodes: Electrons generated during the production of a recyclable material are then not transferred to oxygen by these organisms during respiration, but are passed directly to an electrode.

Making the rhizosphere fit for the future

Whether wheat or corn, after two successive hot summers, farmers in many places are threatened with enormous crop failures this year due to persistent drought. Plants suffer from drought stress because the soil dries out and the root system is not supplied with sufficient water and nutrients. The challenges of climate change are therefore causing researchers to work hard to find promising scenarios for agriculture in the future. 

"Bioeconomy is the core of sustainability policy"

Climate change and species extinction are the greatest challenges of our time. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a task that Dirk Messner, as President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), wants to take up. The renowned political scientist and sustainability researcher sees the bioeconomy as an important driver for moving away from fossil fuels and using resources sustainably.

Empa (2020): Life cycle assessment of corona masks

During the coronavirus pandemic, we wear them on our faces all the time - disposable masks or fabric masks in various designs, used millions of times a day. Some end up directly in the waste, others in the washing machine.

Sausage and burgers made of mushroom mycelium

More and more consumers are turning to meat substitutes in the supermarket. The range extends from soya schnitzel and tofu sausage to lentil burgers. The trend is mostly served by start-ups such as the Berlin company Mushlabs. The eleven-member team around founder Mazen Rizk uses mycelia from mushrooms to make vegan meat substitutes. The biotechnology company has now been able to attract new investors for the further development of its products. A total of 8.7 million euros were raised in a Series A financing round.

European Bioeconomy Fund makes investments

Prolupin GmbH and PeelPioneers B.V. are the first two companies to benefit from the "European Circular Bioeconomy Fund" (ECBF). The ECBF is the first venture fund exclusively dedicated to the bioeconomy, especially the circular bioeconomy, in Europe. Just recently, four investors contributed 82 million euros to the first round of financing, enabling Prolupin and PeelPioneers to support their growth phase.