Food of the future: new production methods - 06/09/2023 NewFoodSystems: innovation space for tomorrow’s food A rapidly growing world population and simultaneously rapidly shrinking arable land – these are just some of the major challenges facing the food industry. But how can solutions be found? Answers are being sought by the bioeconomy innovation space NewFoodSystems. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), it is a network where science and industry can come together to develop sustainable food systems of the future.
Innovative materials - 14/06/2023 Reinventing ‘wood’ with programmable bacteria Conserving wood by producing furniture and other objects from wood-based materials with the help of microorganisms? That is exactly what a team of researchers from the University of Freiburg and the Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM) in Saarbrücken is working on in the DELIVER project. The aim is to create a database of materials with a broad range of controllable properties for various applications that can be produced from wood waste.
3D-Thermocell project - 17/05/2023 Paper instead of plastic: sustainable packaging with a good conscience Replacing plastic – for example in packaging – is not that easy but nevertheless urgently needed. In the 3D-Thermocell project, researchers at DHBW Karlsruhe are currently developing new plastic substitute products made of thermoformable paper as a renewable resource, which should be cheap and light and easy to dispose of along with waste paper. The characterisation and application of demonstration models will start soon.
Diatoms as a biorefinery - 05/05/2023 Microalgae: sustainable chemical production in a mini factory Renewable raw materials that can be used as alternatives to fossil resources already exist. However, to turn them into everyday products, plant oils and other renewable raw materials not only have to be extracted, but often have to undergo complex chemical processing. Researchers at the University of Konstanz have now converted microalgae cells into tiny refineries to produce and upgrade raw materials, creating a supply of sustainable chemicals.
City of the future - 04/04/2023 FamoS: climate protection on facades Resource-efficient water management, photovoltaic modules and innovative facade greening - FamoS is all that. By combining proven elements, the ‘facade module with synergy’ makes a valuable contribution to combatting climate change and boosting climate resilience in cities.
Sustainable construction - 28/03/2023 Digital manufacturing processes enable buildings to be constructed with flax and willow A switch to sustainable and circular construction concepts is needed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector. At the German National Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau) in Mannheim, FibR GmbH, together with researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, will be showcasing two innovative buildings made from flax and willow, renewable raw materials that exemplify possible building concepts of the future.
Residual materials with potential - 16/03/2023 PeePower™ – energy from urine The objective of the PeePower™ BUGA 2023 collaborative research project is to produce green hydrogen and platform chemicals from wastewater. This fits in nicely with BUGA 2023’s (German National Garden Show) four major themes, namely, climate, energy, environment and food security.
Think Tank FYI: Agriculture 5.0 - 16/02/2023 Agriculture 5.0: fighting the climate crisis with agrophotovoltaics and biochar Climate protection, agriculture and biodiversity are closely intertwined. Agriculture 5.0 provides positive guidance, as the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences has demonstrated: agrophotovoltaics (or agrivoltaics), which is currently in vogue in Germany, can be used to generate solar power on high-yield fields. Biomass strips and biochar remove CO2 from the atmosphere. All this improves soil quality and promotes biodiversity.