10.03.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry unspecific Plant breeding research
Berlin researchers provide the data basis for including human excreta in the list of permitted source materials in the Fertilizer Ordinance.
12.03.2025 News
unspecific Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
For the first time, an international research team has been able to optimize synthetic carbon fixation to such an extent that it works more efficiently than natural metabolic pathways.
13.03.2025 News
unspecific unspecific Bioökonomie mitgestalten
The Joachim Herz Stiftung is supporting three research teams with its new innovate! Fund with up to 1 million euros each. They are looking for innovative approaches that make biogenic resources usable.
17.03.2025 News
Chemistry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
A team led by Max Planck researcher Caroline Gutjahr from Potsdam has been able to clarify how plants control the symbiosis with fungi under stress conditions.
20.03.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
As part of an EU project, researchers at Trier University are developing digital solutions to advise winegrowers on soil protection.
14.04.2025 Sector
Textiles unspecific
The textile industry has always used renewable raw materials, from plant fibres such as linen or cotton to animal products such as wool, silk or leather. With the increasing drive towards more sustainability, bio-based innovations are on the rise. Examples include biotech silk, vegan leather and vegetable tanning and dyeing agents.
26.03.2025 News
Chemistry Plants Chemistry
Würzburg researchers have synthesized four dye molecules from photosynthesis in plant cells and thus artificially recreated one of the first steps of the natural metabolic pathway.
14.04.2025 Sector
Pharmaceutical industry unspecific
Medicinal herbs have been used against illnesses for thousands of years. Today, medicines are more and more often produced using biotechnological processes. Biopharmaceuticals, which include active ingredients such as antibodies, enzymes and vaccines, account for about one third of the pharmaceutical market – and their share is growing rapidly.
18.04.2025 Success story
Food Waste Agriculture sciences
In the joint project CUBES Circle, a consortium of researchers from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is developing and testing a symbiotic production system for the preparation of food in cities.
24.03.2025 News
Pharmaceutical industry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Max Planck researchers have functionalized microalgae with chitosan and magnetic nanoparticles in such a way that the movement of the unicellular organisms can be controlled - even through human tissue.
31.03.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Growing biomass on rewetted moors and generating electricity at the same time: the feasibility of this innovative concept is currently being investigated in the MoorPower project.
27.03.2025 News
Chemistry Waste Chemistry
On March 24, the first demonstration plant that converts biogas from wastewater into climate-neutral methanol was put into operation on the site of the Mannheim sewage treatment plant.
02.04.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Microorganisms Plant breeding research
An international research team has deciphered how legumes control the symbiotic relationship with bacteria in their root nodules via signaling pathways.
04.04.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Not only legumes, but also crops such as sunflowers are suitable as catch crops to remove pollutants from agricultural soils. This is shown in a study by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research.
02.04.2025 Interview
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Saxony-Anhalt wants to become a “center of the pea bioeconomy”. A research consortium led by Jochen Reif is laying the groundwork for this.
08.04.2025 Success story
Chemistry Fungi Biotechnology/Systems biology
In the MycoSorb project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Straubing have developed adsorbent materials capable of removing pharmaceutical residues from wastewater.
10.04.2025 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The Volkswagen Foundation is supporting nine projects that address closed raw material-product cycles with a total of 11.6 million euros - including innovations for the bioeconomy.
11.04.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Animals Biotechnology/Systems biology
Researchers at the August-Wilhelm Scheer Institute want to make the breeding of insects more efficient, resource-saving and comprehensible by expanding the InsectAI technology platform.
26.08.2019 In-Depth Report
unspecific unspecific Biodiversity
In Germany, almost 800 research institutions in the natural sciences and humanities deal with the bioeconomy. Every two years, biookonomie.de contacts these research institutes and asks them about their priorities regarding R&D, their raw materials, industrial applications, financing and number of employees. In addition to the data collected, this year six bioeconomy experts were interviewed about their assessments of the local research landscape.
14.04.2025 News
unspecific unspecific Materials sciences
In the interdisciplinary BioSHIP project, industry and science are working together to prevent the fouling of ship parts with biodegradable antifouling coatings.
16.04.2025 News
Food Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Researchers at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences are investigating how the protein content in oats can be optimized and thus used as an alternative protein source.
23.04.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Microorganisms Agriculture sciences
In the SHAPE project, researchers want to specifically enrich humus with microorganisms in order to strengthen plants and make soils more fertile.
24.04.2025 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Researchers at the University of Hohenheim have developed two tools for the use of agricultural side streams in order to recognize and optimally exploit their potential.
09.06.2016 Sector
Automobile unspecific
The car will continue to be an important component of mobility in the future. Alternative drive technologies are on the rise in response to climate targets and international competition. Manufacturers are turning to bioplastics and biocomposites to build ever lighter vehicles, conserve resources and implement a circular economy.
22.04.2025 News
Construction Plants Bioökonomie mitgestalten
The second REWE Green Farming centre in Germany will be built in Berlin-Lankwitz by spring 2026. In future, salad mixes will be harvested all year round in the glass roof farm.
29.04.2025 Sector
Construction unspecific
Whether as a building material, for insulation or interior finishing: Renewable raw materials boast good material properties, improve the eco-balance and are often better for human health. However, even for conventional construction products such as concrete, bio-based, sustainable strategies are now available.
22.04.2025 Sector
Chemistry unspecific
While the chemical industry is still predominantly based on petroleum, a fossil raw material, it is increasingly tapping into biomass, a complex and versatile raw material. More and more companies are turning to green chemical production based on renewable raw materials and biotechnical processes.
28.04.2025 News
Chemistry unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
The discovery of the PHL7 enzyme was the starting point for the founding of the Leipzig-based start-up ESTER Biotech.
24.04.2025 Sector
Energy unspecific
Bioenergy from renewable resources remains an important element in the energy mix of the future. Agricultural farms can use biogas plants to produce electricity and heat. Even in a future electric mobility system, biofuels will still be needed for shipping and aviation.
08.04.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Many varieties of barley produce a substance called gramine, which is toxic to livestock. Researchers from Hanover and Gatersleben have discovered how the alkaloid is produced in the plant.
10.04.2024 News
Chemistry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Researchers from Jena have investigated a community of bacteria and microalgae and discovered how they jointly contribute to climate protection.
28.04.2024 Success story
Agriculture and forestry Animals Biotechnology/Systems biology
As part of the ClimateCow project, researchers in Munich are developing a new type of feed additive for cattle in order to reduce the animals' methane emissions.
24.04.2024 News
Food Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
As part of the European research project Aquacombine, partners from six countries are demonstrating the potential that halophytes such as samphire have for the bioeconomy.
12.04.2024 News
unspecific unspecific Social sciences
A BMBF-funded research team has trained a language model with web texts from 680,000 German companies and has identified and localised those with bioeconomy activities.
17.04.2024 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The world's largest industrial trade fair starts in Hanover on 22 April. The focus will be on technologies for sustainable production. The "Bioeconomy Showcase" in the Future Hub in Hall 2 offers a platform for bio-based innovations.
07.05.2024 Interview
Agriculture and forestry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Christine Ziegler is researching how plants perceive water stress and the underlying mechanisms. The biophysicist was awarded the Synergy Grant by the European Research Council in 2023.
22.04.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Plant breeding research
An international research team involving the University of Leipzig and the food company Nestlé has developed a database to better identify and breed climate-resistant coffee plants.
18.04.2024 News
Chemistry unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
Smart models, sophisticated measurement technology and automated workflows: At the BioProScale conference in Berlin, stakeholders from science and industry exchanged views on the most important trends in industrial biotech production.
02.05.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
A global study led by the Universities of Hohenheim and Copenhagen shows that diversified agriculture not only benefits biodiversity, but also contributes to food security.
30.04.2024 News
Automobile Plants Chemistry
Together with industrial partners, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a new biocomposite material for the production of vehicle underbodies, thereby significantly improving the carbon footprint of the entire production cycle.
06.05.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Can soils be protected from heat, drought and heavy rainfall through reduced cultivation and permanent planting? A research team from Hesse has produced some promising initial results.
13.05.2024 News
Chemistry Waste Chemistry
Shell Deutschland recently commissioned Germany's largest bio-LNG plant at the Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Cologne. A liquefied fuel mixture of biomethane and fossil natural gas is produced here for heavy goods transport.
07.05.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
An international research team with the participation of the University of Bayreuth sees mycoheterotrophic plants as the key to the previously controversial existence of the underground mycorrhizal network in forests.
25.04.2024 News
unspecific unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
The Bioeconomy Showcase is presenting bio-based innovations in high density in Hall 2 of the Hannover Messe: 18 federally funded projects are providing information about their research and development.
08.05.2024 News
Chemistry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
The start-up Insempra has raised 20 million US dollars in a financing round. The Munich-based company specialises in the biotechnological production of natural ingredients for the food, cosmetics and textile industries.
14.05.2024 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) in Greifswald is receiving millions in funding from the federal and state governments to expand research in the fields of agriculture, bioeconomy and the environment.
22.05.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Under the leadership of the Rostock-based Alles Alge association, researchers and companies want to jointly develop a system for cultivating macroalgae in the Baltic Sea.
23.05.2024 News
Food Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
The Berlin-based biotech start-up Cultimate Foods has raised €2.3 million from investors for the development of cultured fat ingredients to give plant-based meat substitutes an authentic flavour.
24.05.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
The RhizoTraits joint project aims to investigate the extent to which different mixtures of maize varieties can guarantee higher yields despite climate change. The focus is on the plant's root zone – the rhizosphere.
27.05.2024 Interview
Chemistry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
The Potsdam junior research group TAILOR, led by Lena Hochrein, aims to optimize baker's yeast and other yeasts so that they can be used in a variety of ways as a cell factory for the bioeconomy.
27.05.2024 News
Food Plants Nutritional sciences
The Berlin start-up BettaF!sh will contribute its expertise in the development of new technologies for the production of healthy food from cultivated seaweed to the new EU research project FunSea.
30.05.2024 News
Chemistry Waste Chemistry
The development of new products from plant-based raw materials was the focus of an EU project in which Fraunhofer researchers from the ISC utilised their innovative coating called bioORMOCER for new fields of application – such as shoe soles and vehicles.
11.06.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
The domestication of maize has greatly changed the root system of the food plant. This is the conclusion of a study involving researchers from Bonn. They also identified a gene that is crucial for the breeding of drought-resistant plants.
07.06.2024 News
unspecific Plants Bioökonomie mitgestalten
At the BioEconomy Centre Anklam, an alliance of research and business has been established under the name IG Helix, which aims to increase the focus on the use of plant-based raw materials from the region – especially for health products.
03.06.2024 News
Food Microorganisms Agriculture sciences
In the BMBF funding programme ‘Agricultural Systems of the Future’, eight large consortia are researching innovative approaches for the sustainable food production of tomorrow. A new brochure, which bioökonomie.de has produced in cooperation with the participants, provides information on their concepts, objectives and successes to date.
18.06.2024 News
Chemistry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have been able to clarify how the algal enzyme HydF is structured and what role a so-called cofactor plays in the production of hydrogen.
06.06.2024 Studies and statistics
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Intensive agriculture is considered to be one of the causes of species extinction worldwide. However, a diverse landscape can significantly promote biodiversity in the fields.
06.06.2024 News
unspecific unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
More fresh capital flowed into the German biotechnology sector in 2023 than in the previous year. There was also an increase in venture capital investments.
10.06.2024 News
Agriculture and forestry unspecific Agriculture sciences
Experts from science and agricultural practice discussed the key results of the soil research funding programme at the BonaRes conference in Leipzig.
11.06.2024 Interview
Chemistry unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
With his company SmartLab Solutions, Felix Lenk is paving the way for the digital and automated laboratory of the future. One of his team's sensor developments, funded by the BMBF, has now made it onto the market.
