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It’s not just the seed itself that holds potential – the shell does too. While sunflower seed shells are technically edible, they’re considered difficult to digest. For this reason, sunflower seeds are usually processed after being shelled. Since the shell accounts for around 15 to 20 percent of the seed, large quantities of shells accumulate as a by-product during the production of both sunflower seeds and sunflower oil.

Fighting mosquitoes and cockroaches with fungi

Mosquitoes of the genus Aedes and cockroaches pose a significant health risk worldwide. However, controlling them with chemicals is problematic due to environmental consequences, the development of resistance, the decline in biodiversity, and the proximity of their habitat to humans, which limits the use of insecticides. The ‘Fungi 4 VectorControl’ project therefore aimed to develop effective biological alternatives based on insect-pathogenic fungi.

Recommendations for a competitive bioeconomy in the EU

The first European bioeconomy strategy was published in 2021, revised in 2018, and is now set to be further developed by the end of the year. The ShapingBio project, coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), aims to support this process. The team has published a policy brief setting out its demands and recommendations for action. These are based on surveys, interviews and events involving almost 2,000 bioeconomy stakeholders from politics, research and civil society.

Forging international research alliances on the bioeconomy

More and more countries see the bioeconomy as an opportunity to master the challenges of the future, such as climate change, food security, and environmental and resource protection. However, a resource-efficient and competitive economy requires the bioeconomy to be viewed in a global context. Close cooperation and worldwide research collaborations are also necessary to exploit the potential of the bioeconomy.

UFZ (2025): Nanoplastics in the North Atlantic

A research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Utrecht University and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) has investigated the proportion of nanoplastics present in the North Atlantic.

Bioeconomy in the life sciences strategy

Europe is to become the world's most attractive location for life sciences by 2030. This is the aim of the new life sciences strategy adopted by the European Commission at the beginning of July. To this end, 10 billion euros are to be made available from the EU budget each year. The aim of the strategy is to utilise the potential of life sciences for health, the environment and the economy in a targeted manner and to strengthen Europe's competitiveness in the global innovation arena.

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