Bioeconomy

Article - 05/01/2010

Biocatalysis – a perfect mission for Bernhard Hauer

Even though human beings are great inventors, nature itself frequently comes up with the best solutions. One good example is enzymes: in contrast to the processes used in the technical-chemical production of basic industrial substances, enzymatic biocatalysis saves energy, raw materials and reduces side and waste products. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hauer, the new director of the Institute of Technical Biochemistry (ITB) at the University of Stuttgart is…

The research group led by Prof. Ralf Reski is a moss specialist and has now, for the first time, succeeded in producing a human protein in a moss bioreactor – the complement factor H. The lack of this protein leads to age-related macular degeneration in about 50 million people worldwide. The complement factor H has been assigned ‘orphan drug’ status by the respective EU authorities.

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 - 10/07/2010

Algae light up industry

The potential of Microalgae cannot yet be optimally used on the large scale. The bioprocess engineer Dr. Rosa Rosello and her team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT are investigating the conditions under which different microalgae species can optimally grow in photobioreactors and lead to high product yields. It is all a question of light and shade.

Article - 09/06/2009

We would gladly finance more biotechs

For four years, the High-Tech Gründerfonds (high-tech company establishment fund) has been supporting technology-oriented company founders. The project, which is backed by the Federal German government and major businesses, has 272 million euros of largely federal funds at its disposal, and its objective is the accelerated marketability of ideas. We spoke with Marco Winzer, representative and Investment Director at High-Tech Gründerfonds,…

Press release - 16/10/2013

BIOTECHNICA 2013 - Baden-Württemberg is a top life sciences spot.

The BIOTECHNICA trade show rolled out the red carpet for its exhibitors. Over 10,000 visitors walked over the carpet to inspect the exhibits that were on display at the Baden-Württemberg booth. The impressive exhibits of the companies showed that Baden-Württemberg has many highly innovative SMEs in the life sciences field.

Upcycling of lignin - 26/10/2021

Bioeconomic model project: vanillin from process industry residues

Extracting vanillin from lignin dissolved in black liquor and developing it into a process that can be scaled up for industry is a bioeconomic approach that researchers at Biberach University of Applied Sciences and Ulm University are pursuing in a five-year project.

pre-start-up company Wheyfinery - 13/04/2022

Acid whey as a valuable raw material for platform chemicals and more

There is not much you can do with acid whey, which is why several million litres of it are disposed of every year. This is both costly and not sustainable. However, researchers at Tübingen University have shown: acid whey can be used to produce precursors for biofuels, fine chemicals and antimicrobial livestock feed additives. They have set up the pre-start-up company Wheyfinery in an endeavour to make their scalable biorefinery concept…

Making important raw materials for fine chemicals out of carbon dioxide really works. As part of the Max Planck collaborative project eBioCO2n, a team of researchers from Fraunhofer IGB have successfully performed a first ever fixation of CO2 via a multi-enzyme enzyme reaction driven by electricity yielding a prospective intermediate for the chemical industry. The process for electro-biocatalytic CO2 fixation was recently published and is…