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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.

While CO₂ emissions continue to rise worldwide, one technology is increasingly coming into focus: carbon capture - the capture and storage of carbon dioxide directly at the source. On 1 July 2025, the Max Planck Society will take on two new research groups working on the development of more efficient processes for capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Joachim Schulze, Vorstandsvorsitzender von  eröffnete die Konferenz mit einem Appell an Zusammenarbeit und Offenheit: „Auf dieser Veranstaltung geht es ums Vernetzen, den Austausch – und darum, die Bioökonomie konsequent weiter voranzubringen,“ sagte er in seinen einleitenden Worten.

The process of breeding new plants is expensive and requires a lot of time and resources - because the genomes have to be carefully adapted for each individual species. This limits genetic improvements. The SyncSol research project at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI MP) aims to develop a universal chloroplast genome that will increase efficiency and diversity in plant breeding. It has now received £9.1 million (approx. 11 million euros) in funding from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).

Every year, pests and pathogens cause 17-30% crop losses worldwide. At the same time, the use of chemical pesticides favours the development of resistance, contributes to the decline in biodiversity and contaminates the soil.

With LIFE (L'Instrument Financier pour l'Environnement), the European Union launched a programme in 1992 to promote innovation in environmental, nature and climate protection. Since then, more than 6,000 projects have received financial support across the EU, including projects in the bioeconomy sector. The starting signal for this year's funding round for the current LIFE period, which began in 2021 and runs until 2027, was given at the end of April.

The hull area of large container ships can be over 30,000 square meters, on which a variety of organisms such as algae, mussels and barnacles settle. On the one hand, this increases the flow resistance and therefore fuel consumption, and on the other hand, sensitive marine ecosystems are endangered by introduced species.

Whether in toys, cosmetics, cleaning products or fertilizers: Microplastics are contained in numerous products. These micrometer-sized particles are now not only present in bodies of water, but also in the soil, where they are harmful to plants and animals and thus to ecosystems. As part of the “Circularity with recycled and biogenic raw materials” funding initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation is once again supporting innovations for an environmentally friendly and circular economy.