Bioeconomy

Article - 19/09/2019

Magnetised algae as microrobots for medical and environmental purposes

Algae, for most of us, is something that lives in water courses that we occasionally find unpleasant. However, that is to do them a wrong. These extremely versatile and frugal organisms might in future prove to be extremely important. Scientists at the University of Stuttgart are investigating how algae can be used as microrobots in biomedicine and environmental remediation.

Press release - 18/01/2018

Wood for clothing, reducing microplastics in our seas: VAUDE participates in the TextileMission research project

Together with various partners from environmental associations, the scientific community and the textile industry, VAUDE has launched the TextileMission research project. The goal is to find solutions that will reduce the environmental impact of microplastics released when synthetic apparel is washed. VAUDE is excited about the initial successful developments.

Article - 15/01/2018

PULaCell: inspiring wood construction with biobased polyurethane

The aim of the joint three-year "PULaCell" project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is to develop biobased reinforcing profiles for solid wood construction materials. As part of the project, several research institutes and industrial companies are developing biobased, cellulose fibre-reinforced polyurethane profiles that will make future wood-based materials stronger.

Article - 04/12/2017

Textiles: water-repellent thanks to fungal proteins

Outdoor lovers and athletes love them: water-repellent jackets and trousers. However, many consumers are unaware that the chemicals used to functionalise the textile surface often pollute the environment. Organic fluorine compounds (perfluorocarbons = PFC) are usually added to textiles to make them water-repellent. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB and the Hohenstein Group are researching an…

Bioeconomy in construction and architecture - 25/10/2017

Development of innovative, ecological construction materials and methods at the University of Stuttgart

The Baden-Württemberg construction sector is currently experiencing a similar boom to the one that occurred in 1996. Between January 2016 and January 2017, low interest rates and uninterrupted demand for housing has led to an increase in orders of almost 10%1. A shift from conventional building materials to biobased building materials and products would likely also support the transition to a bioeconomy in this economic sector. The Institute for…

Article - 29/09/2017

Building with bamboo and fungi – renewable buildings of the future

Bamboo to replace steel and fungi to replace concrete: a research group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is working on ways of using renewable raw materials in the construction industry. Biological building materials such as bamboo and fungal mycelium could one day replace conventional materials such as steel and concrete.

Article - 03/08/2017

PURCELL – cellulose to replace plastics

Glass fibre-reinforced plastics have become an integral part of our everyday life: in cars, playground slides, swimming pools or on facades, such composites are used wherever stability is required. Unfortunately, both production and disposal are far from sustainable. Scientists from the German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf have now developed an innovative material made from pure cellulose, which has practically the same…

Applied research in the bioeconomy field - 19/06/2017

Biobased electrode materials for future energy storage systems

Novel biomass materials suitable for various applications need to be developed in order to establish a biobased raw material platform within the bioeconomy. These biobased materials must be able to compete with conventional fossil fuel-based materials, both from a technological and economic point of view. Researchers at the University of Hohenheim are working on the development of conductive carbon materials from biomass with the long-term goal…

Article - 28/03/2017

Biogranules for industrial foils and a new class of products

Biogranules are a starting point for the production of a wide range of novel biobased materials: in a BMBF-funded project called ”EnzymaCell”, a company called TECNARO and its cooperation partners have developed thermoplastic biofoils. The innovative combination of cellulose and natural additives has led to a material with many application possibilities.

Biobased materials used in the field of architecture - 05/12/2016

Straw replaces plastics – a material revolution

Junior professor Dr.-Ing. Hanaa Dahy and her team from the ITKE in Stuttgart are developing everyday biobased materials that have a wide range of possible applications. The materials can be used for thermal insulation, designer furniture, yoga mats or resilient flooring in sports halls. The researchers use techniques from the plastics industry to process recyclable and compostable materials.

Article - 11/10/2016

Nanofur for cleaning up accidental oil spills in water

Accidental oil spills such as those following oil disasters need to be cleaned up as quickly as possible. Researchers from the KIT in Karlsruhe have now developed an environmentally friendly process that can eliminate oil spills effectively. Nanofur is a material that imitates the fine hairs of aquatic ferns and is capable of absorbing large amounts of oil within a relatively short time.

Article - 01/09/2016

Tailor-made biotech fibres for improved wound dressings

Scientists have developed a biotechnological process to produce bacterial alginate. The alginate quality is highly reproducible, making it suitable for the production of fibre-based medicinal products such as wound dressings.

Article - 09/05/2016

Biobattery made from unused and windfall apples

The disadvantage of wind and solar energy is that they cannot be produced continuously nor can they be stored, at least not yet. High-performance batteries that can store intermittent renewable energy sources might change this in the future. Sodium-ion batteries would be both a cheap and environmentally friendly possibility. Prof. Dr. Stefano Passerini and his team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a battery that…

Article - 07/03/2016

Bio-racing car as a prototype for the car of the future

How “bio” can a car be? Quite a lot, as the Bioconcept car developed by Reutlingen-based Four Motors demonstrates. Former DTM driver Tom von Löwis and his team are currently working on a fourth-generation biofuel-powered Bioconcept car. The body parts and interior are made from fully or partially biobased materials and composites with plant-fibre reinforced duromers. The optimised combustion engines are powered with biofuels. Anyone who thinks…

Article - 17/09/2012

Thomas Paulöhrl: spatially and temporally controlled light-induced reactions

Thomas Paulöhrl, polymer chemist from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), was awarded the 2012 Lanxess Talent Award for his achievements in further developing light-induced click strategies that can now be used for generating various surface structures and three-dimensional frameworks. His Ph.D. thesis not only provides the basis for new ways to efficiently modify material, it also opens up new research opportunities in medical drug…

Article - 29/05/2012

Can artificial photosynthesis solve our energy and climate problems?

In order to achieve the sought-after shift towards sustainable regenerative energy supply, researchers around the world are focusing on the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen and carbon compounds using artificial chemical systems. They aim to achieve much more efficient photosynthesis than plants have. Other scenarios foresee improving the energy balance of photosynthesis by modifying the photosynthesis system.

Article - 02/05/2011

Learning from corals’ virtuoso handling of light

There are research projects where the development of a hypothesis is as exciting as the final results. A project at the Ulm-based institute ILM that is being funded under the Molecular Bionics programme is one of such projects. This immediately becomes clear when Raimund Hibst ILM director and project coordinator refers to it as a risky and ambitious project. If everything goes according to plan the ILM will be able to improve photovoltaic plants…

Article - 02/05/2011

Intelligent adhesives inspired by nature

Boston ivy ivy and other woody vines have unusually strong adhesive forces. The question researchers are asking is can they transfer the surface adhesion principle of ivy to technical applications? The Plant Biomechanics Group led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck in Freiburg is working on one project that focuses on using nature as a model for intelligent adhesive bonds.

Article - 04/04/2011

Clemens Posten: How can algae produce cheap energy?

Microalgae are a real treasure trove. The cosmetics food and chemical industries already use many algal metabolic products and it is envisaged that algae will become an important regenerative source of energy in the future. Prof. Dr. Clemens Postens Bioprocess Engineering team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT focuses on bioprocess development and is investigating the effect of different diets and the dilution of light on algal product…

Article - 13/09/2010

Stuttgart-based ZSW turns wood and electricity into gas

It is rather reassuring to know that fossil energy carriers can be replaced by renewable ones. However, the difficulties are always in the details. For example with regard to the storage capacity of electricity produced with sun and wind; or with regard to the use of biomass to produce natural gas substitutes. The Stuttgart-based Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has a number of solutions up its sleeve for…

Press release - 31/05/2010

Geomicrobiologists from Tübingen discover how electricity flows in soil

Geomicrobiologists from the Centre for Applied Geoscience at the University of Tübingen in cooperation with researchers from the University of Wisconsin USA the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing BAM and the Humboldt University in Berlin are the first in the world to show that microorganisms are able to use solid-phase organic soil particles so-called humic substances to replace oxygen when grown in the absence of oxygen. The…

Article - 03/05/2010

In order to innovate, we must come down from the ivory tower

At talks given at the recent Biotechnology Days in Berlin representatives of a number of different BMBF-funded clusters showed that numerous strategies to enable the industrial production of biopolymers and biomaterials from resources other than oil are now available.

Since the end of July 2008 the Biomaterials laboratory of the Empa in St. Gallen has been an official member of the BioLAGO BioRegion. We talked with Dr. Manfred Zinn about how the researchers find materials with the desired properties.