Research • Educate • Connect
Towards a sustainable bioeconomy
Research • Educate • Connect
Towards a sustainable bioeconomy
Photo: Fotolia

Focus Topic Area "Technological and Institutional Innovations as Drivers of Bio-Based Social Transformations"

The goal of an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable bioeconomy is to secure the prosperity of present and future generations within the planetary boundaries. This will only be possible with comprehensive social and economic changes. New goods must be produced using new raw materials and processes, but this can succeed only if they are demanded and socially accepted. The transition from a fossil-based to bio-based economy will take place only with substantial changes in, for example, consumption patterns, value networks, business mo­dels, infrastructures and regulatory frameworks.

Technological and institutional innovations are key drivers of such transformation processes. However, they must be accompanied by the analysis of potential conflicts of goals such as nutrition versus material use of plants, by the analysis of the competitiveness of new products versus established oil-based alternatives and by investigations of the social acceptance of new technologies. Thus, transformation pathways can systematically be identified that are at the same time a) desirable from the sustainability perspective, b) possible from the techno-economic point of view and c) acceptable from the societal point of view.

Project examples

Photo: Forschungszentrum Jülich/Sacha Kreklau

Transform2Bio - Integrated Transformation Processes and their Regional Implementations: Structural Change from Fossil Economy to Bioeconomy
September 2019 - August 2022

Photo: iStock

Econ-BioSC - Biomass flows and technological innovation in the bioeconomy: A global scenario analysis
March 2015 - February 2016

Econ-BioSC
03/15 – 02/16

 

  

Biomass flows and technological innovation win the bioeconomy: a global scenario analysis

  

Economics of Sustainable Land Use and Bioeconomy,
Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

P-ENG
01/15 – 12/16

 

  

Efficient phosphate recovery from agro waste streams by enzyme, strain and
process engineering

  

Microbiology, Biotechnology (RWTH)
Systems Biotechnology (FZJ)
Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

InducTomE
11/15 – 12/17

 

  

Induction of secondary metabolites in tomato by-products for extraction and economic evaluation of the model process

  

Botany and Molecular Genetics, Fluid Process Engineering (RWTH)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Horticultural Sciences, Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

AP3
04/17 – 12/20

 

  

Advanced pulping for perennial plants: a holistic and sustainable integrated lignocellulose biorefinery concept

 

  

Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Botany and Molecular Genetics, Technical Chemistry and Petrochemistry, Fluid Process Engineering, Process Systems Engineering, Technology and Innovation Management (RWTH)
Developmental and Molecular Biology of Plants, Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology (HHU)

CombiCom
05/17 – 12/20

 

  

Combinatorial creation of structural diversity for novel high-value compounds

 

  

Molecular Enzyme Technology, Microbiology, Synthetic Biology, Bioorganic Chemistry (HHU)
Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)
Molecular Phytomedicine, Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)

Bio2
05/17 – 12/20

 

  

Integration of next generation biosurfactant production into biorefinery processes

 

  

Bioprocess Engineering, Microbiology, Fluid Process Engineering, Chemical Process Engineering (RWTH)
Microbiology, Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (FZJ)

greenRelease
01/18 – 06/21

 

  

GreenRelease for plant health

 

  

Biotechnology, Plant Physiology , Functional and Interactive Polymers (RWTH), Technology and Innovation Management, Horticultural Sciences,
Molecular Biology of the Rhizosphere (U Bonn)
Biochemical Plant Physiology, Pharmaceutical and Medical Chemistry (HHU)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)

HyImPAct
01/18 – 09/21

 

  

Hybrid processes for important precursor and active pharmaceutical ingredient

 

  

Systems Biotechnology (FZJ)
Bioorganic Chemistry (HHU)
Fluid Process Engineering, Operations Management (RWTH)

PepUse
09/19 – 02/21

 

  

Peptide adhesion promoters for user centered plant health applications

 

  

Biotechnology (RWTH)
Physical Biology (HHU)
Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

GreenToxiConomy
09/19 – 08/21

 

  

Green toxicology for a green bioeconomy

 

  

Environmental Research, Microbiology,
Functional and Interactive Polymers (RWTH)
Microbiology (HHU)

Transform2Bio
09/19 – 08/22

 

  

Integrated transformation processes and their regional implementations: structural change from fossil economy to bioeconomy

 

  

Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation, Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Economics of Sustainable Land Use and Bioeconomy, Economic and Technological Change, Economic Modeling of Agricultural Systems, Technology and Innovation Management, Agricultural and Food Market Research , Economic and Agricultural Policy, Production Economics (U Bonn)
Operations Management (RWTH)

NewBIAS
07/22 – 06/25

  

New Biochars for the Improvement of Agricultural Soils

 

  

Renewable Resources (U Bonn)
Technologies of Fuels and Operations Management (RWTH)
Analytics, Agrosphere and Plant Sciences (FZJ)

SurfIn
06/22 – 05/25

  

Surface Active Biomolecules for the Chemical Industry

 

  

Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Applied Microbiology, Biochemical Engineering and Fluid Process Engineering (RWTH)
Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

P3roLucas
07/22 – 06/25

  

Optimization of plant performance and products for lupin cascade use

 

  

Plant Physiology (RWTH)
Bioinformatics (FZJ)
Bioorganic Chemistry (HHU)
Agricultural and Food Market Research (U Bonn)

BioPlasticycle
06/22 – 05/25

  

Transitioning bioplastics to the circular economy

 

  

Systems Biotechnology, Synthetic Microbiology and Agrosphere (FZJ)
Bioinorganic Chemistry and Operations Management (RWTH)
Macromolecular Chemistry (HHU)

MK-ScaLoop
07/22 – 06/25

  

Towards an industrial-scale process for a biotechnological production of methyl ketones in a novel multiphase loop reactor

  

Fluid Process Engineering and Applied Microbiology (RWTH)
Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (FZJ)