11^th BioSC Spotlight: "Green Chemistry for a Sustainable Bioeconomy"

June 22, 2026 | 12:00 am - 4:30 pm | Institute of Inorganic Chemistry | Landoltweg 1a | 52074 Aachen

Climate-friendly, environmentally sustainable and resource-efficient production of materials and chemicals is one of the current major challenges that the bioeconomy is addressing. The 11th BioSC Spotlight explored the intersections of green chemistry and the bioeconomy and the contributions of green chemistry to a sustainable bio-based circular economy. It took place as a satellite event to the Fuel & Chemical Science Conference 2026. 

The event was hosted by the Chair of Bioinorganic Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University. In the keynote lecture, Walter Koch, BASF, used various examples to demonstrate that, in order to realistically determine whether a bio-based product actually reduces CO₂ emissions, it is necessary to consider not only the manufacturing process but also raw materials, transportation, recycling, and disposal. Following this, various examples of new synthetic routes were presented. Caroline Paul, TU Delft, showed impressive possibilities for the production of fragrances and active pharmaceutical ingredients using enzymatic retrosynthesis. Dörte Rother, Forschungszentrum Jülich, illustrated how such enzymatic reaction cascades can be combined with microbial and chemical synthesis steps and how these hybrid processes can also be carried out in non-aqueous media. Jürgen Klankermayer, RWTH Aachen University highlighted the necessity and possibilities of concatenating different catalytic pathways for the realization of a circular economy.

In the second part, Johannes Rebelein of HHU Düsseldorf demonstrated that certain bacterial nitrogenases are capable of converting CO₂, which could be a promising approach for the production of CO₂-based chemicals. The event concluded with an impressive joint presentation by Sonja Herres-Pawlis and Andreas Jupke, both from RWTH Aachen University, who presented chemical processes for the synthesis and degradation of bioplastics on a technical scale, including innovative product recovery methods.

Intense discussions and networking rounded out this exciting and productive day. Many thanks to all the speakers, to everyone who helped organize the event, and to the participants!