9^th BioSC Forum on 17^th May in Jülich

Around 100 BioSC members gathered on May 17, 2023 for the ninth BioSC Forum, the annual internal retreat, to exchange information about developments in the past year and new research results. In addition to the presentation of all running projects within the NRW BioSC strategy project, there were presentations on successful scientific advancements from previous BioSC activities as well as an overview of BioSC initiatives in the field of education and early career. In addition, the new Core Groups leaders included in the past two years as well as newly integrated junior professors had the opportunity to introduce themselves in pitches and thus strengthen their networking in the BioSC.

After the welcome by Ulrich Schurr (Forschungszentrum Jülich ) and the introduction of new BioSC Core Groups and new junior professors, the scientific sessions started, which were structured according to the BioSC focus topic areas (Modular Biotransformations for the Production of Valuable Materials, Innovations as Drivers of Biobased Societal Transformations, Smart Management of Plant Production and Integrated Biorefineries for Sustainable Processes and Products). All ongoing Seed Fund and Boost Fund projects as well as PhD projects were presented by the project coordinators. Supplementary poster presentations also enabled personal exchange on research questions. The contents of all BioSC research projects are presented on the BioSC homepage (https://www.biosc.de/researching).

At the beginning of each session, an example of successful further development of BioSC activities was presented. Prof. Michael Feldbrügge (HHU Düsseldorf) presented the SFB MiBiNet, which focuses on communities of microorganisms. Cooperation partners are the Research Center Jülich, RWTH Aachen University, the Universities of Bielefeld and Cologne, and the MPI for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne. Fifteen of the 29 project leaders are members of the BioSC, where a large part of the necessary collaborations were initiated.

Prof. Jan Börner from the University of Bonn presented the successful progression from the Seed Fund project Econ-BioSC (Biomass flows and technological innovation in the bioeconomy: A global scenario analysis, 2015-2016) to other projects such as STRIVE (Sustainable TRade & Innovation Transfer in the BioEconomy) and the EU HorizonEurope project CLEVER (Creating leverage to enhance biodiversity outcomes of global biomass trade), and addressed daily political developments on import rules to protect the rainforest. The focus of the research activities is the assessment of the sustainability of bioeconomy.

Dr. Caspar Langenbach, collaborator at RWTH Aachen University and AgPrime GmbH, reported on work to identify plant health-promoting compounds. In the BioSC Boost Fund project PrimACs (Priming-active compounds for plant protection, 2015-2017), a screening system for "priming" (strengthening the immune system of plants) substances was established and promising substances were identified. These results were used to attract further third-party funding, e.g. the Bioeconomy International project PrimACrop, and likewise motivated the founding of the company AgPrime.

Marcel Gausmann from the Chair of Fluid Process Engineering at RWTH Aachen University reported on the ExCryst - Electrochemically induced crystallization project. Electrochemically induced crystallization has already been developed as a downstream option for the production of L-alanine and succinic acid in the BioSC FocusLab HyImPAct (2018-2021). Advantages are the ecological production of biotechnologically produced carboxylic acids and the avoidance of waste materials. Follow-up projects are the innovation labs E-HyBio and ZeTA as part of the BMBF structural funding for the Rhenish mining area. The ExCryst project was selected by a jury of experts from academia and industry as part of the RWTH Innovation Sprint. The aim here is to transfer the existing laboratory reactor to pilot scale for testing industrial applications.

The presentations by Prof. Ingar Janzik and Dr. Heike Slusarczyk on the topic of education and early career highlighted developments such as the initiation of the new GENERATION B(ioeconomy) - Mentoring Program, an innovative pilot project of the Boll Foundation and BioSC that combines a junior research and a mentoring part. All further information on BioSC activities in the field of education can be found on the BioSC homepage (https://www.biosc.de/ausbilden). Contact person is Prof. Dr. Ingar Janzik (email: i.janzik@fz-juelich.de).

The ninth BioSC Forum impressively demonstrated the outstanding research work being carried out at the BioSC. The event provided the opportunity for intensive discussions and has contributed to further interdisciplinary networking in the BioSC.