Abstract

A thriving bioeconomy is essential for achieving a carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative society. However, the current production processes of industrial biotechnology rely on glucose from starch and sucrose, which poses challenges in terms of land use and competition with the food industry. This is particularly true for creating fine chemicals, low-cost bulk chemicals, or biofuels. ValorCO2 aims to address these challenges by directly utilizing CO2 instead of relying on biomass. The Knallgasbacterium Cupriavidus necator is of interest due to its lithoautotrophic metabolism, coupling CO2 fixation with H2 oxidation, allowing for CO2-neutral chemical production. The project will focus on using protein and metabolic engineering to valorize CO2 into valuable biopolymers (polylactide) and fine chemicals (oxyfunctionalized cyclic amines). The project will also tackle challenges related to molecular biology tools, process conditions of gas fermentation, and optimal metabolic fluxes in C. necator. The economic competitiveness of gas fermentation with C. necator will be evaluated through socio-economic assessment. The expected outcome of ValorCO2 is a general workflow for the design of recombinant C. necator strains and gas fermentation process engineering, along with a defined roadmap for industrial implementation of the technology.

BOOST FUND 2.0 Coordinator

Dr. Paul R. F. Cordero
iAMB - Synthetic Microbiology
RWTH Aachen
email: paul.cordero[at]rwth-aachen.de

Partners

Dr. Marco Girhard, Prof. Dr. Vlada B. Urlacher, Biochemistry II, HHU Düsseldorf
Katharina Miebach, Prof. Dr. Jørgen Magnus, AVT – Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen
Dr. Sascha Stark, Prof. Dr. Sandra Venghaus, Dr. Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs, IEK – Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Dr. Tobias Alter, Riccardo Clerici, Prof. Dr. Lars Blank, iAMB – Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen
Dr. Paul R. F. Cordero, Prof. Dr. Lars Lauterbach, iAMB – Synthetic Microbiology, RWTH Aachen

Funding Period

01.01.2024 - 31.12.2026

Funding

ValorCO2 is part of the NRW-Strategieprojekt BioSC and thus funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.