Press release - 30/03/2023 Green composite material made from flax and chitosan Composite materials provide stability in aircraft parts, sports equipment, and everyday household items. However, most of these materials have a poor carbon footprint and are not naturally degradable. A more sustainable alternative has been developed by a team from the University of Stuttgart. This completely bio-based composite material is made of flax fibers and the biopolymer chitosan.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/green-composite-material-made-flax-and-chitosan
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.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/digital-manufacturing-processes-enable-buildings-be-constructed-flax-and-willow
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.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/peepower-energy-urine
Press release - 10/03/2023 Carbon fibres from lignin - a new process for economical production A novel, both environmentally friendly and cost-saving process for the production of carbon fibers from lignin has been developed at DITF. It is characterized by high energy-saving potential. The avoidance of solvents and the use of natural raw materials make the process environmentally friendly.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/carbon-fibres-lignin-new-process-economical-production
Press release - 08/03/2023 Green gold: Torrefied biomass to replace coal and oil In February, the Estonian-based startup New Standard Oil successfully commissioned their first industrial-scale prototype for drying and torrefaction of biogenic feedstock operating with superheated steam at atmospheric pressure.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/green-gold-torrefied-biomass-replace-coal-and-oil
Press release - 01/03/2023 Mulching time of forest meadows influences insect diversity Researchers at the University of Freiburg have examined how mulching at different times affects insect flower-visitors and larvae.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/der-mulchzeitpunkt-von-waldwiesen-beeinflusst-die-insektenvielfalt
Press release - 28/02/2023 The Tech4Biowaste database: Getting biowaste conversion technologies out of the dark The Tech4Biowaste database will be showcased online by its developers on 30 March 2023https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/tech4biowaste-database-getting-biowaste-conversion-technologies-out-dark
Press release - 23/02/2023 Protecting the climate during textile production: polyester fibers bind CO2 Start for an EU-wide collaborative project: Under the leadership of the French company Fairbrics SAS, 17 project partners from 7 European countries are coming together. The common goal is to produce end products from polyester in a closed cycle using industrial CO2 emissions and to bring them to market maturity. The DITF produce synthetic fibers from plastics of non-fossil origin.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/protecting-climate-during-textile-production-polyester-fibers-bind-co2
Press release - 23/02/2023 New tailwind for renewable carbon plastics in EU policy? nova-Institute’s take on the recently published EU proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation as well as the new policy framework for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/new-tailwind-renewable-carbon-plastics-eu-policy
Press release - 16/02/2023 Minister of Science Visits University of Freiburg On February 16, 2023, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Science, Research and the Arts, Petra Olschowski, visited the University of Freiburg. The focus of her visit was on sustainability and the transfer of knowledge. The minister learned all about how the day-to-day running of the university is becoming sustainable, and the wide-ranging climate protection and environmental safety measures. She also visited the livMatS pavilion.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/minister-science-visits-university-freiburg
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.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/agriculture-50-fighting-climate-crisis-agrophotovoltaics-and-biochar
Press release - 15/02/2023 Sustainable Use of Phosphorus: DFG Extends German-Chinese Research Training Group Around 7 million euros to promote more sustainable use of the world's limited phosphate supply: The German-Chinese Research Training Group AMAIZE-P can continue its research on phosphorus as one of the most important nutrient elements for plants. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a second funding period of another 4.5 years.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/sustainable-use-phosphorus-dfg-extends-german-chinese-research-training-group
Review - 09/02/2023 5th Gene Technology Report – a critical observation of a cutting-edge technology The societal importance of genetic technologies was demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic, when it was possible to rapidly develop suitable vaccines thanks to genetic engineering methods. As a result, the Fifth Gene Technology Report published in autumn 2021 reads like a validation of many years of work, as well as making it clear that the will to continue the detailed long-term monitoring is very much present.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/5th-gene-technology-report-critical-observation-cutting-edge-technology
Save-the-date - 10/05/2023 CONTACT2023 | Life Science Job Fair Heidelberg (Germany), job fair https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/events/contact2023-life-science-jobmesse
Synergistic effects with microalgae and purple bacteria - 03/02/2023 Working towards a hydrogen economy with a wastewater biorefinery: the SmartBioH2-BW project A biorefinery that uses industrial wastewater and residual material streams is being built in Rheinfelden (Baden). It will have two interlinking bioreactors and will synthesize biohydrogen as well as organic basic materials such as carotenoids and proteins. SmartBioH2-BW is a pilot project run by the Urban and Industrial Biorefineries initiative and funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/working-towards-hydrogen-economy-wastewater-biorefinery-smartbioh2-bw-project
Vaccination for plants - 23/01/2023 Dialogue instead of a chemical maze – new strategy for sustainable crop protection Climate change creates stress. This provides an opportunity for pests to exploit plant weaknesses and reproduce. For the infested plant, this can be catastrophic and often fatal. But instead of continuing to protect harvest yields with toxic substances as before, the transnational DialogProTec project is now taking a completely new approach: researchers want to intervene in the communication between plants and pests to keep them healthy.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/dialogue-instead-chemical-maze-new-strategy-sustainable-crop-protection
Funding Renewable Material of the Year 2023 Competition, Funded by: nova-Institut GmbH, sb_search.searchresult.label.programSubmissionDate: 28/02/2023 https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/databases/funding/renewable-material-year-2023
Funding ACCELERATE Programme Funding programme, Funded by: Grünhof GmbH, sb_search.searchresult.label.programSubmissionDate: 12/02/2023 https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/databases/funding/accelerate-programm
Valorization of biological materials - 12/01/2023 ValBio-Urban brings bioeconomy research to users Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and the capture and utilization of CO2 are important steps towards achieving a climate-neutral and sustainable economy. Accordingly, as part of the ValBio-Urban research project, an interdisciplinary team from the University of Stuttgart is developing bioeconomic approaches to solutions that will be implemented with companies from Baden-Württemberg.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/valbio-urban-brings-bioeconomy-research-users
Raw materials from wastewater - 21/12/2022 Wastewater treatment plants as biorefineries: the RoKKa project RoKKa, a joint project coordinated by the Fraunhofer IGB, is testing methods for recovering raw materials such as phosphorus and nitrogen compounds to produce fertiliser from municipal and industrial wastewater in a climate-neutral way. These new methods are being investigated under real conditions at wastewater treatment plants in the Ulm area with a view to developing them into sustainable biorefineries.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/wastewater-treatment-plants-biorefineries-rokka-project
Press release - 20/12/2022 Strong and biodegradable A polyester plastic of great mechanical stability, which is also easily recyclable and even compostable: Stefan Mecking, chemist at the University of Konstanz, and his research group present a new material.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/strong-and-biodegradable
Start-up 'Innovation Matters' - 19/12/2022 Saffron cultivation in Germany - sustainable with support from robots Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world, because picking it involves a complex manual process. This treasure therefore comes to us mostly from countries such as Iran with poor working conditions and low wages. A start-up company called Innovation Matters from Baden-Württemberg is now developing a robot-assisted, automated process that will make saffron cultivation attractive in Germany as well as ecological and fair.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/saffron-cultivation-germany-sustainable-support-robots
Press release - 15/12/2022 Taking responsibility to protect biodiversity The launch of the global Nature Positive Universities initiative was announced at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), held in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022. The University of Konstanz is one of more than one hundred universities from all five continents joining the initiative. The common goal is to address the university's own impact on nature and to identify and implement effective measures to halt and reverse the loss of…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/verantwortung-uebernehmen-zum-schutz-der-biodiversitaet
Project FuTuReS - 12/12/2022 Microalgae - high-quality products for domestic agriculture? Algae are aquatic organisms that flourish in a huge variety of species. But that's not all: they are also small green mini-factories that can produce all kinds of valuable materials. All they need is water, light, CO2 and a few nutrients that can be recycled from biogas or sewage treatment plants. Researchers have now determined the optimal framework conditions and practicability of process methods for agricultural algae cultivation.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/microalgae-high-quality-products-domestic-agriculture
Press release - 09/12/2022 Digital Summit: Chancellor Scholz chooses Phoenix agricultural robot as his favorite AI & robotics from the University of Hohenheim advance environmental protection & sustainability in agriculture / German Chancellor Scholz impressed by potential of Swabian multi-talent robothttps://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/digital-gipfel-kanzler-scholz-waehlt-agrar-roboter-phoenix-zu-seinem-favoriten