Bioeconomy

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dossier - 15/04/2019

The alternative: “bioplastics”

Plastic waste takes years to decompose and pollutes the environment. Nevertheless, plastics are an indispensable part of everyday life. It is therefore all the more important to find a meaningful alternative that is sustainable, environmentally friendly and has better properties and more functionality than conventional plastics. In addition, such an alternative should not be dependent in any way on fossil resources.

Article - 12/03/2019

Biocarbon fibres made of lignin

Carbon fibre is increasingly found in airplanes, cars and wind turbines. Carbon fibre is still made from oil and relatively expensive. However, this is soon to change. Researchers from the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research in Denkendorf (DITF) are working on the development of cost-effective carbon fibre made of lignin, a by-product of papermaking.

Dossier - 04/03/2019

Sustainable textiles

Baden-Württemberg is known for innovation in textiles and for playing a decisive role in the development of sustainable textiles for the future both in the clothing and the booming technical textile sectors. Companies and research institutes are focused on making the entire textile value chain from raw materials, production and useful life to disposal more sustainable than ever before.

Article - 11/02/2019

Natural biopolymers - the sustainable almost-all-rounders

Wood pulp as well as hemp and flax are renewable raw materials that can be processed into fibres of a new performance class using innovative technologies. They are environmentally friendly and help to solve waste problems. Products and processes for these fibres of the future are being developed at the DITF Denkendorf. They are suitable for textile and technical applications.

Anniversary - 12/12/2018

15 years of BIOPRO: Pooling competencies – pushing innovations

This is the leitmotif of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH, which was founded in 2003. 15 years is a good time to pause for a moment and take a look at BIOPRO’s work and achievements. As a central point of contact and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Baden-Württemberg government whose main objective is to promote networking, BIOPRO knows only too well that progress is not made alone, but in collaboration with others.

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…

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…

Article - 07/12/2016

Insect chitin makes textile production more sustainable

Insects have an external skeleton composed mainly of chitin. Chitin is a long-chain polysaccharide with functional groups that make it a valuable biopolymer for a broad range of applications. Chitin is an almost inexhaustible resource, as it is constantly produced in huge quantities throughout nature. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) and six cooperation partners are working on…

Article - 12/09/2016

Valuable new biopolymers from crustacean shells

In the EU alone, more than 250,000 tons of seashell waste are discarded every year. The exoskeleton of crustaceans consists of proteins, calcium carbonate and chitin, a long-chain sugar molecule which could be used to produce valuable building blocks for the polymer industry. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) in Stuttgart have developed a biotechnological process aimed at a sustainable…

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 - 02/05/2016

Biopolymers – raw materials for innovative medical products

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable biopolymers that are becoming increasingly important. Bioplastics are now used not only in everyday objects such as plastic bags and yogurt pots but also increasingly in the field of medicine, which is why intensive research into medical devices made from biodegradable polymers such as PHA has been going on for quite some time.

Article - 25/04/2016

The aluminium trees of Sulawesi

Trees of the genus Symplocos in the Indonesian mountain rainforest store so much aluminium in their leaves that it can be used for dyeing textiles. A research project at the University of Ulm aims to preserve the traditional dyeing methods of Indonesian weavers, protect these rare trees and increase our knowledge of aluminium-accumulating plants.

Overview

Baden-Württemberg and its researchers

The universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions in Baden-Württemberg cover the full range of research topics and subjects that are essential for the bioeconomy, including in particular the agricultural sciences, forestry, soil science, plastics technology, materials science, textile engineering, food technology, energy, food technology, economics, chemistry, biology, biotechnology, ecology and ethics.

Article - 01/09/2014

BARK CLOTH_europe – success through saving resources

Ecological, economical and socially sustainable - all apply to a company called BARK CLOTH_europe, which in 2013 was one of 10 companies recognised as fabric innovators by the 'LAUNCH System Challenge: Fabric'. With its biomaterial made from the bark of the African Ficus tree, the company sells an innovative material that is produced using traditional methods.

Dossier - 18/11/2013

Innovative textiles made possible by biotechnology

Biotechnology plays a part in many high-tech fabrics that have become an integral part of our everyday life. Whether it is products for the treatment of wounds, fabrics for marquees or for clothing, many materials have been developed or are produced using biotechnological techniques and processes. Many products marketed as “micro” or “nano” are inspired by nature. The current topic of the month addresses different aspects of innovative textiles…

Press release - 10/04/2013

Joint booth highlights potential of a biobased economy

BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg and its partners are presenting tangible products and processes related to the theme of a biobased economy in the exhibition “View on Biobased Economy – Bioeconomy” from April 8th - 12th, 2013. Baden-Württemberg’s Minister President Winfried Kretschmann and Science Minister Theresia Bauer visited the booth on Monday afternoon.

Article - 25/03/2013

A warm house thanks to polar bear principle

In January 2013, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller officially opened a building of a special kind: the polar bear pavilion at the ITV Denkendorf. It is the first building to implement a pioneering technology that efficiently absorbs and stores heat. Inspired by polar bear skin, the building is the result of human ingenuity and high-tech materials.