The 5th BioSC Symposium on March 5, 2021 combined a look back at ten years of bioeconomy research since the founding of the BioSC with a look ahead to future developments and challenges. In addition to scientists from the BioSC, high-level guests from academia, industry, and ministries at the federal and state levels contributed to the event. With about 170 participants, the virtual event was well attended.
The symposium was opened by Christine Lang, Vice Chair of the International Advisory Council for Global Bioeconomy and former Co-Chair of the German Bioeconomy Council. She outlined the growing importance of the bioeconomy in a global context. She said 49 countries already have bioeconomy-related policy strategies, 16 of which have dedicated bioeconomy strategies. In the U.S., she said, the bioeconomy is already worth $1 trillion, or 7.4 percent of gross domestic product. The bioeconomy supports social and technological innovations that can contribute to a sustainable lifestyle. Expanding it further requires a long-term political perspective that must also include changes to existing economic structures and legal frameworks, for example.
From science to application
Ulrich Schurr, spokesman for the BioSC's Executive Board, gave a brief overview of the BioSC's ten-year history before members of the BioSC and external guests presented specific innovations.
At the beginning, the focus was on sustainable plant production. Felix Jakob and Sylvia Schleker presented results on new technologies and active ingredients for crop protection from the BioSC FocusLabs greenRelease and CombiCom. Anne-Kathrin-Mahlein, University of Göttingen, presented methods for digital monitoring of plant diseases and weed infestations in the field, which enable tailored and resource-efficient crop protection.
Innovative biorefinery concepts were the next thematic focus. Holger Klose and Nina Ihling presented developments for processing alternative biomass and agricultural residual streams from BioSC FocusLabs AP3 and Bio2. Thomas Voessing, Covestro AG, presented a process for the biobased production of intermediates for polyurethanes.
Anita Loeschcke and Stephan Noack presented the successful engineering of platform organisms for the production of pharmaceutical and agronomic active ingredients in the BioSC FocusLabs CombiCom and HyImPAct. Subsequently, Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, formerly of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, outlined the industry's expectations of the bioeconomy, addressing topics such as sustainability, competitiveness and openness to new technologies.
Bioeconomy and society
The following presentations were dedicated to the changes in the economy and society that necessarily accompany the establishment of a bioeconomy. Ulrich Schurr presented the BioökonomieREVIER project, which aims to use the establishment of a model region for sustainable biobased economic activity as an opportunity for the Rhenish lignite mining region after the coal phase-out. The BioSC FocusLab Transform2Bio, presented by Sandra Venghaus, uses this concrete example to investigate how social transformation processes take place and how they can be designed to take into account the interests of different social groups.
Uwe Fritsche from the International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategies outlined the perspective of a future BioWEConomy, in which participation and the common good, ecology and fair trade play an important role. Finally, Karen Siegel, University of Münster, directed attention to the global context, presenting the SABIO project, which is investigating the possibilities for developing sustainable bioeconomies in South America.
Developments and perspectives
In the concluding panel discussion, Thorsten Menne, Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Andrea Noske, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, emphasized the essential need for systemic and interdisciplinary thinking and action, as well as networking among all stakeholders from science, industry, society, and the importance of research for a successful transformation process. Professor Wolfgang Marquardt, Forschungszentrum Jülich, emphasized the need for appropriate funding structures for systemic and complex issues such as in bioeconomy research. The structural change in the region is suitable as an ideal real laboratory for exemplary implementation with industry and society. Professor Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, formerly of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, emphasized that only sustainable innovations could be competitive. For the future, he would particularly like to see an even stronger exchange between industry and science. The BioSC and its partners offer an established, ideal basis for cooperation. Uwe Fritsche of the International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategies pointed out that the bioeconomy has the opportunity and obligation to contribute to the achievement of the global sustainability goals. The post-COVID era offered a great opportunity to achieve the necessary transformation to a more sustainable economy and society.
At the end of the event, the BioSC Supervision Award, worth €25,000, was presented for the sixth time, this year for the first time as the Christian Patermann Award. The award winner is Dr. Michael Wustmans from the Chair of Technology, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Bonn.
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