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Large quantities of green waste, food waste and sewage sludge accumulate in every city and municipality. Tapping into these biogenic residues as a source of raw materials and optimising their use as materials and energy is an important cornerstone on the path to a sustainable and cycle-oriented bioeconomy. Stuttgart now wants to drive forward the transition to a bio-based circular economy in a targeted manner. The state capital of Baden-Württemberg is the first municipality in Germany to draw up its own urban bioeconomy strategy.

Taking stock of the German biotechnology sector: this week, two industry analysts have presented the key economic figures.

Hemp, reeds, algae and Rügen healing clay are among the biogenic resources that are intended to pave the way for a sustainable and bio-based economy in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV). The BioEconomy Centre (BÖZ) Anklam is committed to making optimum use of these local raw materials and reusing them as many times as possible. Under the leadership of Beatrice Großjohann, the team brings together partners from research and industry in order to make the region's potential visible and utilise it for new products for the bioeconomy.

Whether in packaging, mobile phones or cars, plasma technologies are used in many areas nowadays. In addition to their ability to heal wounds, cold plasmas can also kill multi-resistant bacteria and be used to treat seeds, for example. Plasma research at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) in Greifswald is now to be boosted with millions in funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

"Energising a Sustainable Industry" is the guiding theme of Hannover Messe 2024. This year, the world's largest industrial trade fair is focussing on innovations for the sustainable production and energy supply of the future. Solutions for CO₂-neutral production, AI-based technologies and green hydrogen production are on display.

"Energising a Sustainable Industry" is the guiding theme of this year's Hannover Messe, which opens its doors to visitors next week. From 22 to 26 April, more than 4,000 companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical and digital industries as well as the energy sector will be presenting their solutions for a sustainable industry of tomorrow - including global tech companies and research institutions as well as more than 300 start-ups.

In the TRABBI junior research group, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), economic geographers Lukas Kriesch and Sebastian Losacker from the University of Giessen have obtained regionalised data on bioeconomy companies in Germany. They report on their analysis in the scientific journal "REGION - the Journal of ERSA".

For the sixth time, the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability and the German Startups Association have analysed the contribution of green startups to the transformation of the economy and identified their specific needs and challenges. This year, the Green Startup Monitor 2024 (GSM) shows a rather mixed picture: at 29%, the proportion of startups whose business model is based on sustainability is almost a third.