Environmental technology

Calls for more research into organic farming

Organic food is in fashion: in 2016, revenue in this sector grew by almost a tenth in Germany, increasing to 9.5 billion euros. This is according to the latest industry figures put forward in honour of the world's largest specialist trade fair for organic produce 'BIOFACH' that took place between 15 February and 18 February in Nuremberg. In Germany alone, land cultivated for organic farming has increased by almost 9% to a figure of 1.2 million hectares, according to information provided by the Bund Ökologische Landwirtschaft (BÖLW).

Tetra Pak with bio-based packaging

Tetra Pak are aiming high: The Swiss-based packaging manufacturer, originally founded in Sweden, has set its sights on manufacturing products from 100% renewable materials that have been cultivated sustainably. "The introduction of the new Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge packaging with the bio-based LightCap 30 is a key step towards achieving our goal," says Charles Brand, Tetra Pak Executive Vice President.

Biofuel cell stores energy

They have created a bio-supercapacitor: in the scientific journal "Angewandte Chemie", scientists from the Ruhr University in Bochum and Sweden's Malmö University have described a biofuel cell that not only generates energy, but can also store it. "That kind of technology may be suitable for miniaturised devices, for example, those meant to supply themselves with energy wirelessly.

WWF study on palm oil published

Whether in ice cream, pizza, chocolate or biodiesel, palm oil is one of the world's most versatile plant-based oils. That makes it one of the most important raw materials for the bio-based economy. Demand today is higher than ever. About 60 million tonnes of palm oil and palm-kernel oil are produced annually. The area cultivated worldwide is 17 million hectares, about half the land mass of Germany. Around 1.8 million tonnes of palm oil are consumed each year here. The lion's share, 41 per cent, is used in the manufacturing of biodiesel.

Campus for sustainable car manufacture opened

Light vehicles that consume little and are therefore less environmentally problematical – that is how the car of the future should be. The foundation for next-generation-but-one vehicle technology has just been laid in the car manufacturing city of Wolfsburg. In the presence of Federal Minister of Research Johanna Wanka, the LeichtbauCampus Open Hybrid Lab Factory was inaugurated at a location not far from the headquarters of VW.