Compostable nappies - 14/10/2021

Nappies for a sustainable bioeconomy

In an EU-funded project, the Tübingen-based biotech company Novis is working with international partners to develop a fully compostable nappy that contains no plastic parts. This could reduce the huge quantities of used disposable nappies that have been produced to date and the enormous costs of disposal, as well as avoiding the greenhouse gases produced when they are incinerated.

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.

Dossier - 28/04/2020

Sustainable bioenergy

Biomass from forestry and agriculture along with residues from industry and households can contribute to our energy and raw material shift. Sustainable, regenerative biomass-based energy can become part of the energy mix of the future within the framework of a bioeconomy.

Final chord of the EU-project Smart SMEs - 31/05/2021

Building a sustainable network for natural fibre-based SMEs in the Alpine Space

The European project Smart SMEs came successfully to its end in May 2021 with the final conference, which attracted participants from different parts of Europe.

Phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge - 21/10/2020

Bacteria help to recycle phosphorus

Biotechnology for the bioeconomy: in something known as the P-bac process, sulphur bacteria extract phosphorus from sewage sludge ash. Phosphorus is one of the key building blocks of life and an essential nutrient for plant growth. When there is not enough phosphorus in the soil, farmers apply it via organic or mineral fertilisers.

Article - 10/07/2019

More than just a nut – new products for the bioeconomy

Plants are often used for one particular purpose only. However, walnut trees have much more to offer than just delicious nuts. The AlpBioEco project is studying the potential of walnut trees for the bioeconomy and how the potential can be exploited commercially. The international team of researchers is also focusing on apples and herbs.

Natural fibers in use - 15/02/2022

Sustainable reinforcement of e-bike battery cases

Ansmann AG from Assamstadt provides mobile energy solutions with a focus on sustainability. The BioBattery project, which was awarded the Baden-Württemberg Bioeconomy Innovation Prize, saw Ansmann AG working with the Fraunhofer LBF in Darmstadt to develop a natural fibre reinforced plastic composite for use in e-bike battery cases.

Article - 27/05/2019

Providing Growledge - resources and products for the bioeconomy

Miscanthus and hemp are biomass plants that can be used as raw materials for a wide range of products and can be grown on land areas that are currently underutilised. A European consortium led by the University of Hohenheim in Baden-Württemberg has started a five-year project to demonstrate the economic potential of these plants.

Outlook on the future of agriculture - 30/11/2020

Agriculture 4.0 - ultramodern and without harmful plant protection products

The demand for organic products is continuing to grow; at the same time nature is being preserved – so why not switch completely to organic farming? The answer is simple: because not everyone can afford it, and with current consumption patterns not everyone would get enough to eat. A cooperative project is researching an an agricultural system that falls between conventional and organic farming.

Büsnau biorefinery - 05/10/2022

KoalAplan: municipal wastewater as a source of recyclable materials

Our wastewater not only contains dirt and excretions, but is also rich in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, which can be recovered. A sewage plant can thus become a source of raw materials. In the KoalAplan project, a new type of biorefinery will be used to convert the carbon recovered from wastewater into sustainable products.

Biogas and wood as components of the energy transition - 10/02/2020

New perspectives for bioenergy

Decentralised, controllable and stable - renewable energy is an important component in the transition to a bioeconomy without fossil fuels. BIOPRO spoke to PD Dr. Andreas Lemmer from the State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy at the University of Hohenheim and Prof. Dr. Stefan Pelz, scientific director of the Institute for Applied Research and professorat the University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg.

Dossier - 17/11/2021

Biorefinery: new paths to build our tomorrow

Sustainability is in vogue. And it’s not a question of wanting to be sustainable, but having to be: as the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows, protecting the climate and the environment calls for swift action. Biorefineries that use renewable raw materials and recycle industrial raw materials are playing an important role in the bioeconomy concepts of many countries - including the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Dossier - 09/12/2013

Industrial biotechnology biological resources for industrial processes

Industrial or white biotechnology uses microorganisms and enzymes to produce goods for industry, including chemicals, plastics, food, agricultural and pharmaceutical products and energy carriers. Renewable raw materials and increasingly also waste from agriculture and forestry are used for the manufacture of industrial goods.

The European Commission agreed on the successor of BBI JU – the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) in a legislative proposal adopted today. The new partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) is expected to build on the success of BBI JU while stepping up its contribution to the EU’s climate targets, in line with the European Green Deal. The European Parliament and Council will now study the…

Dossier - 09/11/2020

Packaging of the future

What will the packaging of the future look like, and what will be required of it? Can packaging be biobased, recyclable, sustainable and economic? In Baden-Württemberg, there are various approaches to developing packaging with the above properties from various sources including agricultural residual and side streams as well as municipal waste.

European collaborative project led by the University of Hohenheim shows: Combining bioethanol production with carbon storage can effectively reduce CO2.

Producing valuable new products from waste materials - 07/01/2020

A vision: insect biorefineries as components of a sustainable bioeconomy

Eco-friendly and responsibly manufactured products are more in demand than ever before. Specific research is being carried out into materials and applications for a wide variety of uses. The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB is working with Hermetia Baruth GmbH on the vision of an insect biofactory that uses waste materials to produce a wide range of products such as biosurfactants, animal feed or foils.

Microorganisms are the oldest, most abundant, and most diverse life forms on earth and offer enormous potential for biotechnological applications. To date, however, only a fraction of them could be isolated and cultivated. The “MicroMATRIX” research project, funded with € 1.5 million by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and led by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), aims to shed more light on the microbial darkness.

Two-part interview part 1 | Prof. Dr. Regina Birner on the green genetic engineering debate - 12/08/2019

Agricultural economist Birner calls for other forms of dialogue besides organized interest groups

Green genetic engineering continues to divide opinion in Germany in the same way as CRISPR/Cas and other genome editing (GE) techniques. What are the consequences for the bioeconomy, which involves key areas of biotechnology? We talked with Prof. Dr. Regina Birner, agricultural economist and head of Hohenheim University’s Department of Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development at the Institute of Agricultural and Social…

Dossier - 22/10/2012

Environmental biotechnology

Biotechnologists are increasingly learning how to apply the knowledge about biological metabolic processes in the field of environmental protection including waste management and environmental rehabilitation. Environmental biotechnology is a field with great potential. In future bacteria and other microorganisms will most likely also contribute to sustainability and cost efficiency in other areas including the cosmetics and detergent industry as…

AFYREN secures procurement of sugar beet co-products, major feedstock for industrial- scale production of its sustainable chemicals.