Research • Educate • Connect
Towards a sustainable bioeconomy

Research • Educate • Connect
Towards a sustainable bioeconomy
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Sustainable bioeconomy!?

What is it? And how can research and education contribute to the transformation to a bio-based economy?

The Bioeconomy Science Center explanatory film provides a first insight into bioeconomy. It describes how interdisciplinary and integrative research cooperation on a regional scale can be organized and what is required to develop solution approaches for the challenges of the 21st century.

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Food security
Climate protection
Resource management
Energy supply

Integrative bioeconomy  |  Finding solutions for societal challenges

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Challenge Food security

How can we succeed in supplying a growing world population with high quality foods?

Unfavorable and complex constraints such as limitation of agricultural areas, competing uses of renewable resources – energetically or materially – and changing consumption habits call for new cross-disciplinary approaches from the field of sustainable bioeconomy. 

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Challenge Climate protection

How can the impacts of human activity on the earth’s climate be minimized?

The sustainable production of energy and renewable resources through resource-efficient processes and the development of a closed-cycle economy is an important aspect of adapting to climate change. Already today, the concept of a sustainable bioeconomy offers many solutions for improving climate protection.

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Challenge Resource management

How can we meet requirements for resources and energy production that are both secure and economical?

This can only be achieved through sustainable management of our natural resources, including air, water, climate and ecosystems. A sustainable bioeconomy can provide a number of promising solutions in this area.

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Challenge Energy supply

How can renewable fuels for mobile applications and bioenergy be made available sustainably and for the long term?

Its storage capability is what makes bioenergy such an important part of the future energy mix. It is an indispensable component that can compete with energy sources such as wind and solar energy that are not always available. The sustainable bioeconomy offers solutions for developing integrated production processes for sustainable production.

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Current news

03.04.2025

BioSC Forum 2025: Successful internal retreat

On April 1, the 11th BioSC Forum took place in the Central Library of Forschungszentrum Jülich. After an overview of the last 15 years of the BioSC as a bioeconomy research hub in NRW, long-term developments in the fields of bioplastics, fibers, functional molecules and process technologies were presented. In breakout sessions and a subsequent panel discussion, the relevance of bioeconomy research for societal challenges such as climate change was discussed. In the afternoon, new results from ongoing BioSC projects on a wide range of topics were presented. Extensive networking rounded off the successful day.

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26.02.2025

Political kick-off for the Transformation Cluster BioökonomieREVIER

With the funding commitment of 5.83 million euros from the federal and state governments, the Rhenish mining area can continue on its way to becoming a model region for the bioeconomy. NRW Science Minister Ina Brandes and Dr. Mandy Pastohr, President of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) as the responsible approval authority of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection officially launched the project in Merzenich-Bürgewald on February 24, 2025.

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13.02.2025

Nylon recycling with Pseudomonas putida: New publication in Nature microbiology

Congratulations to the consortium around Nick Wierckx and Benedikt Wynands! Using deep metabolic engineering, guided by laboratory evolution, the consortium has optimized Pseudomonas putida to grow on nylon hydrolysates. This includes the expression of nylonases, explored in collaboration with Kenneth Jensen from Novonesis. The researchers enable the ultimate P. putida NYLON-PHB strain to convert polyamide hydrolysates into eco-friendly polyhydroxybutyrate.
Polyamides like nylon are amazing materials with numerous applications, but their recycling is currently almost non-existent. With the new nylon-eating strain, scientists now have a new option: to replace glucose with plastic waste as a feedstock for biotechnological processes.

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29.01.2025

8th International BioSC Symposium with Christian Patermann Award for Benedikt Wynands

The 8th International BioSC Symposium focused on how bio-based solutions can contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Almost 200 participants from science, business and politics spent two exciting days at lectures, panel discussions and poster sessions. Thorsten Menne, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, opened the symposium and presented in the presence of the namesake the BioSC's Christian Patermann Award 2024 to Benedikt Wynands, Forschungszentrum Jülich, for his outstanding interdisciplinary supervision of doctoral theses on the bioeconomy.

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You can find an overview of all news articles here.

Topics

European Plant Phenomics Conference 2025

16.-19.9.25 | Bonn | Registration is open!
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Publications

Busch, F, Leal, OdA, Siebers, N and Brüggemann, N (2024). Biochar captures ammonium and nitrate in easily extractable and strongly retained form without stimulating greenhouse gas emissions during composting. Journal of Environmental Quality n/a(n/a). NewBIAS

Gauthier, C, Lavoie, S, Kubicki, S, Piochon, M, Cloutier, M, Dagenais-Roy, M, Groleau, M-C, Pichette, A, Thies, S and Déziel, E (2024). Structural characterization of a nonionic rhamnolipid from Burkholderia lata. Carbohydrate Research 535: 108991.   DesignR/SurfIn/ResPuTra

Langletz, T, Grande, PM, Viell, J, Wolters, D, Tonn, J, Klose, H, Schriever, SG, Hoffmann, A, Jupke, A, Gries, T and Herres-Pawlis, S (2024). Toward a Greener Bioeconomy: Synthesis and Characterization of Lignin–Polylactide Copolymers. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research 5(2): 2300187.   LignoTex

Siekmann, F and Venghaus, S (2024). Regional transformation pathways for the bioeconomy: A novel monitoring approach for complex transitions. Journal of Industrial Ecology 28(3): 603-616.   Transform2Bio

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Calls

Ernst-Pelz-Preis & Förderpreis Nachwachsende Rohstoffe
Deadline: April 30, 2025
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Bio-Gründer Wettbewerb
Deadline: Juni 30, 2025
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Zukunftstechnologien für die industrielle Bioökonomie (BMBF)
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Generation B(ioeconomy)

Research plus mentoring in BioSC - Funded by the Marga and Walter Boll Foundation

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Events

next event: 30.04.2025
Aachen, Germany
30.04.2025

AUFBRUCH Frühjahrssymposium - „Zukunft gestalten: Junge Köpfe für eine nachhaltige Bioökonomie“ (GERMAN)

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Jülich, Germany
09.05.2025

Lost in Transformation? Bioökonomie praktisch umsetzen

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Bremen, Germany
26.05.2025 - 28.05.2025

Himmelfahrtstagung on Bioprocess Engineering 2025

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Turku, Finland
02.06.2025 - 04.06.2025

RRB2025 - International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries

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Rome, Italy
16.06.2025 - 19.06.2025

FAO Global Agrifood Biotechnologies Conference

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