Current projects
These are the current projects CLIB is involved in as a project partner or as subcontractor.
The project coordinator is indicated with an asterisk (*).
AUFBRUCH Graduiertencluster Nachhaltiges Revier
Funded by: BMBF
Duration & volume: 2024 – 2028, 12.5 M EUR
Partner: RWTH Aachen*, FH Aachen, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, TU Dortmund University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, TH Köln, Hochschule Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, CLIB
Your contacts at CLIB: Tobias Klement, Tatjana Schwabe-Marković
The Graduate Cluster AUFBRUCH aims to empower young people in their doctorates to help shape the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. The central theme is a holistic understanding of sustainability in the Rhenish mining area. To this end, AUFBRUCH brings together a consortium of seven academic institutions and a cluster, and thus a wide range of disciplines. In addition to excellent disciplinary training and interdisciplinary links, AUFBRUCH will place a strong focus on implementing the knowledge gained in the Rhenish mining area, especially via start-ups.
AUFBRUCH is funded by the BMBF as part of the structural change programme.
Bio4MatPro competence centre
Funded by: SofortprogrammPLUS, BMBF
Duration & volume: 2022 – 2025, 27 M EUR
Partners: RWTH Aachen University (DE), CLIB (DE), International Technology- and Service-Center Baesweiler (DE), ca. 50 partners from academia and industry in subprojects
Your contact at CLIB: Tobias Klement, Dennis Herzberg
The Bio4MatPro competence centre bundles the capabilities of the research and industrial landscape in the Rhenish region and in NRW for the biological transformation of industries through the biological transformation of material science and production technology. The project combines the expertise of a powerful mix of large companies and SMEs, an established start-up centre, and excellent academic institutes and links this to investor funds via a venture capital accelerator.By founding start-ups and expanding existing business models, sustainable jobs are created in the region.This is achieved by focusing on local and renewable sources of raw materials, on companies in the region, and the binding commitment to local value creation.
The thematic focus of the Bio4MatPro competence centre is to utilise local, renewable raw materials instead of petrochemical-based feedstocks to develop the region into a resource-efficient bioeconomy model region. Today’s product concepts need to be rethought to enable a future-oriented industry that is ecologically and economically sustainable. This process of “Biological Transformation” together with digitalisation represents the next major leap forward to a sustainable and circular industry. In Bio4MatPro, the application of bio-based materials, the integration of biological functionalities, and the development of scalable and biocompatible processes and machines for large-scale production will generate highly valuable products and machines to drive this transformation of industries forward.
BiodeCCodiNNg
Funded by: Horizon2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Duration & volume: 2023-2026, 2.6 M EUR
Partners: University of Groningen* (NL), CLIB, 17 additional partners from 8 European countries
Your contact at CLIB: Katrin Kriebs
BiodeCCodiNNg is a doctoral network project which delivers a comprehensive doctoral training programme to educate Europe’s next visionaries with out-of-the-box thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset to expand the repertoire of enzymes for industrial biotechnology. Scientifically, the project wants to create novel biocatalysts for industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology by combining basic research and applied engineering to deliver new synthetic routes to chemically relevant products in more efficient and cleaner ways than the current ones. The consortium will discover and characterise novel NN- and CCzymes, elucidate their structure, and engineer them towards new reactions and industrial biocatalytic applications.
CLIB will be involved in training of the doctoral candidates and in supporting them in exploiting the project’s results.
BIOTRANSFORM
Funded by: Horizon Europe, GA ID 101081833
Duration & volume: 2022 – 2025, 2 M EUR
Partners: VTT* (FI), CLIB, 8 additional partners from 6 European countries
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković, Peter Stoffels, Sabine Kortmann
BIOTRANSFORM is a coordinating and support action, which will provide European policymakers with an adequate assessment and policy development framework, knowledge base, and expert support ecosystem to accelerate the transition from linear fossil-based systems to circular bio-based systems.
BIOTRANSFORM’s “assessment package” will be tested by and provided for European policymakers, which will include 3 complementary tools: (i) a resource flow analysis tool including circular innovations, (ii) a cutting-edge quick environmental, social, and economic assessment tool, and (iii) a logistics management tool.
Within the project, 6 case-study regions will develop a multi-actor approach to develop and test the framework. These regions are Andalusia (Spain), Northern Burgenland (Austria), Western Macedonia (Greece), Finland, Charles Spa Region (Czech Republic), and North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), and they represent several important industries and scenarios for Europe such as: forestry, agricultural food production, lake ecosystems, tourism, and chemicals.
In this project, CLIB will work on bio-based resources and transformation pathways for the chemical industry in NRW.
ConCO2rde
Funded by: Horizon2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Duration & volume: 2021 – 2024, 2.9 M EUR
Partners: acib GmbH*, CLIB, 15 additional partners from 5 European countries
Your contact at CLIB: Katrin Kriebs
ConCO2rde is a European innovative training network that brings together a diverse team of chemists, synthetic biologists, enzyme technologists and process engineers. The main objective of this team is to train 11 Early Stage Researchers (ESR) in different research disciplines that together allow the conversion of CO2 by smart autotrophic biorefineries.
The concept is based on autotrophic microorganisms that utilize renewable energy for the accumulation of biomass and, therefore, provide potential sources for future materials of our society. The network of ConCO2rde combines chassis strain development of these autotrophic microorganisms with process engineering in order to bring biotechnological processes to the next level.
CLIB will be involved in training the 11 ESRs and integrating the project consortium into its broad C1 network.
COUNTLESS
Funded by: CBE JU
Duration & volume: 2023 – 2027, 5.4 M EUR public funding
Partners: VITO*, CLIB, 11 additional partners
Your contact at CLIB: Tobias Klement, Tatjana Schwabe-Marković, Sabine Kortmann
Europe´s ambitious sustainability and climate goals rely heavily on the transition from fossil-based to bio-based chemical building blocks.
Lignin as abundant natural resource has substantial potential to become the starting material to produce functionalized aromatic compounds. Today, only 1-2 % of the annual lignin production is used in chemical conversion. The critical challenge yet to be overcome is the heterogeneous and complex nature of isolated lignins, hampering their full exploitation. To address this challenge, COUNTLESS will demonstrate the first catalytic hydrogenolysis process operated in continuous mode at industrially relevant scale for the cost-effective and sustainable production of lignin-based platform chemicals. COUNTLESS will demonstrate their applicability and cost-effectiveness in a variety of end-use cases from bulk to specialty applications.
In the project, the 13 partners cover the entire value chain including feedstock suppliers, technology development experts, well-recognized industry players in several application fields, experts in dissemination, communication and exploitation, and experts in integrated sustainability, environmental, and techno-economic assessments.
COUNTLESS contributes directly to the increased use of sustainably sourced biomass, a reduction of GHG emissions through improvements in the pilot infrastructure (>50% reduction in GHG emissions and 85% using fully renewable supply) and the development of bio-based high-value products substituting current fossil-based compounds.
The project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members. Grant agreement ID: 101112453.
FARMŸNG – Flagship demonstration of industrial scale production of nutrient Resources from Mealworms to develop a bioeconomY New Generation
Funded by: Horizon2020, BBI JU (under GA ID 837750)
Duration & volume: 2019 – 2024, 19.6 M EUR
Partners: ŸNSECT* (FR), CLIB, 17 additional project partners from across Europe
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković
Increasing protein production for feed and food is a major challenge in order to keep up with the increasing global demand for meat and fi sh. Beetles are protein-rich and can be sustainably farmed, with a relatively light environmental footprint in terms of production and processing. The use of insect protein is already allowed in pet food and feed for aquaculture and is starting to be approved for human consumption in the EU. In the FARMYNG project, a fully automated, vertical insect farm (a biorefinery flagship) is being built near Amiens, France. Researchers and engineers from diff erent partners will develop on an industrial and automated scale the breeding and transformation of Tenebrio molitor (mealworm) for the production of animal nutrition and fish nutrition. The project aims to produce 1,500 tonnes of protein and 400 tonnes of oil per month – rates never demonstrated in the insect protein production market. CLIB is a project partner, tasked to disseminate the projects results and to support business model development.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 837750
FuturEnzyme – Technologies of the Future for Low-Cost Enzymes for Environment-Friendly Products
Funded by: Horizon2020 under GA ID 101000327
Duration & volume: 2021 – 2025, 6 M EUR
Partners:CSIC* (ES), CLIB, additional 14 project partners from across Europe
Your contact at CLIB: Markus Müller, Tobias Klement
The consumer goods industry is aiming at making its products more sustainable, environmentally friendly, and functional. Enzymes can play a major role in innovative alternative processes to make consumer products greener and thus increase their acceptance by consumers.
FuturEnzyme brings together an international strong network of experts to identify, design, optimise, produce, and test novel enzymes in real-life consumer products. In a structured way, three exemplary processes or products from the detergent, cosmetics, and textile industry are analysed and assessed for their potential of implementing new enzymes. The resulting in silico and in vitro optimised enzyme candidates are produced at gram scale, implemented in the conventional processes or products, and tested for their benefi cial eff ect in performance and life-cycle assessment (LCA). After the end of the project, the established workflow should also help other industries and sectors to make their processes and products more sustainable.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant
agreement No 101000327.
Realise-Bio
Funded by: Interreg Deutschland – Nederland
Duration & volume: 2023 – 2025, 3.4 M EUR
Partners: CLIB*, 3N Kompetenzzentrum, Niederrhein University of Applied Science, USV Agrar (all DE), Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, Gemeente Venray, LLTB, Universiteit Maastricht (AMIBM) (all NL)
Your contact at CLIB: Dennis Herzberg, Katrin Kriebs, Peter Stoffels, Sabine Kortmann
In the Realise-Bio project, experienced partners will provide decisive impulses for the realisation of a circular bioeconomy and circular economy in the Interreg programme area in order to make the Germany-Netherlands border region greener and more liveable and to address global regional challenges such as climate change. The concept of the bioeconomy is based, among other things, on the use of biogenic raw materials, which accumulate in large quantities in the border region,
especially in the form of residual and side streams, but have so far been used too little in a circular sense.
The most important instrument for realisation are at least eight model projects that will be awarded to German-Dutchconsortia. Realise-Bio identifi es and activates new and known actors in a targeted and low threshold manner. This is donethrough strong communication activities and events that are distributed throughout the Interreg region for better coverage.Realise-Bio enables its model projects through an intensive technical support to overcome the “valley of death” for their innovations to bring circular products to the market. For the technical coaching of the model projects, all model partners are involved in order to identify possible hurdles and opportunities and to provide a comprehensive view of the sustainabilityof the innovation. To this end, the competencies of the project partners complement each other, covering areas such as logistics, life cycle analysis, or analysis of brand entry barriers.
ReCO2NWert
Gefördert durch: BMBF
Duration & volume: 2024 – 2028, 8 M EUR
Partner: CLIB* und 10 weitere Partner aus dem Rheinischen Revier und den Nachbarkreisen
Your contacts at CLIB: Sarah Refai, Markus Müller
Many industrial process gases contain CO2, which is released into the atmosphere and has a lasting effect on our climate. The utilisation of CO2 as a feedstock for biotechnological production processes therefore contributes decisively to the reduction of CO2 emissions. In this context, the project ReCO2NWert (Implementation of the resource transition in the chemical industry through biotechnological CO2 utilisation in regional value chains) aims to biotechnologically convert unavoidable process gases for carbon fixation in industrially usable end products. This contributes to the transformation of the fossil-based chemical industry in and around the Rhenish mining area into a bio-based and more sustainable industry.
In the project, the purified flue gases from the MVA Weisweiler are collected and converted with the help of microorganisms into industrial relevant products. The microorganisms can absorb CO2 and similar C1 gases and convert them into valuable products. These can be, e.g., alcohols which are used in the chemical industry to produce, e.g., plastics, or ingredients for cosmetic products. Using the example of flue gases from the MVA Weisweiler, the project aims to establish a biotechnological platform technology for the utilisation of carbon-rich industrial gases, which can be used for a variety of different flue gas streams and products in the future.
ReCO2NWert is funded by the BMBF as part of the structural change programme.
Triple-S
Partners: CLIB*
Funded by: MWIKE
Duration & volume: 2023-2025, 600.000 EUR
Your contact at CLIB: Tobias Klement, Tatjana Schwabe-Marković, Markus Müller
The Triple-S project aims to identify, support, and transfer those biotechnological and biobased technologies which can make a significant difference to realise a future-proof, climate- and environmentally friendly business location in NRW, oncethey are scaled-up and implemented in the market. We will develop Triple-S criteria based on sustainable, smart & scalable indicators, which will define whether a technology can fundamentally make a difference in the coming industrial transformation. Whether a technology ultimately makes a difference as an innovation is additionally dependent on other external factors. Through the criteria-based assessment of technologies in terms of their impact potential for transformation, Triple-S goes beyond previous projects and activities of CLIB. The added value for stakeholders in NRW lies particularly in the support for classifying their innovation projects and in demonstrating the potential of biotechnology, especially for economic sectors that have not yet been familiarised with this key technology. Triple-S will help to develop promising technologies into innovations, accelerate their scaling, and promote the implementation of their potentials in new industries.
Initiatives & Cooperations
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković
3Bi – Brokering Bio-Based Innovation
Since 2020, CLIB is working with the European bioeconomy clusters B4C (France), BioVale (UK), and Circular Biobased Delta (CBBD) in the 3Bi intercluster. Here, we join forces with other European clusters to reach a wider network, organise joint events, and connect our members. The events can be webinars on current topics or presentations of EU funding lines combined with networking opportunities. CLIB and the partner clusters in 3Bi benefit from each other’s expertise and networks and aim to bring additional value to their respective members.
BIG-Cluster BioInnovation Growth mega-Cluster
Funded by: BMBF
Duration & volume: Scoping phase (2016 – 2017), 722,000 EUR
Implementation phase (2018 – 2022), 3 M EUR
3 dedicated R & D projects with multiple partners
Partners: CLIB (DE), Biobased Delta (NL), Catalisti (BE)
(scoping phase) and seven additional clusters
Your contact at CLIB: Katrin Kriebs, Dennis Herzberg
Big Cluster
The BioInnovation Growth mega-Cluster (BIG-Cluster) is a cross-border Smart Specialisation Initiative aiming to make Europe’s industrial mega-cluster in the Flanders region of Belgium, The Netherlands, and NRW a global model in comprehensive bio-based value chains. The region has been a powerhouse of industrial innovation for decades and seeks to keep this prominent position in the future bioeconomy. The BIG-Cluster was initiated by the three cluster organisations BE-Basic (The Netherlands), Catalisti (Flanders, Belgium), and CLIB (NRW, Germany) and is backed by additional cluster organisations and networks in the three regions. Today BIG-Cluster is coordinated by Circular Biobased Delta, Catalisti and CLIB.
BIG-Cluster’s purpose is to speed up the transition to the bioeconomy and circular economy in the participating regions, to identify and take advantage of critical mass and synergies in public and private R &D as well as in training and education facilities, and to build capacity. One of the long-term goals is to enable pilot and demonstration activities for the production of chemical building blocks and fuels based on alternative feedstocks sourced in the region, such as 2nd generation biomass and industrial waste gases. Early on, the BIG-Cluster decided to focus on the feedstock-to-product (F2P) value chains “Aromatics and Fine Chemicals from Woody Biomass” (Biobased Aromatics), “Chemicals from CO and CO2” (C1 Bioconversion), and “Biomass strategies”; and the cross-sectional topics “Circular Economy Education” (Education) and “Closing the loop”. In 2018, CLIB initiated three international consortia focusing on the topics Biobased Aromatics, C1 Bioconversion, and Education. The corresponding projects ALIGN, BioCOnversion and CROSSBEE were funded by the German federal ministry of education and research, with international partners associated. These achieved great success during the project lifetimes and will build on their results in future projects. While there is no direct trilateral funding mechanism available for BIG-Cluster partners from the three countries, the international consortia interact and collaborate in meetings and project advisory boards.
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković
BIC
CLIB is a founding member of the Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC), a non-profit association based in Brussels. It was the private partner of the Biobased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) PPP in Horizon2020 and is the private partner of the Circular Biobased Europe (CBE) PPP in the current Horizon Europe framework. BIC seeks to expand the partnership to include primary producers and brand owners and reach out to society in order to achieve the vision of a carbon-neutral bioeconomy, replacing fossil-based products to mitigate climate change in a circular bio-society.
By being active in BIC and CBE, we see a chance for industry to identify knowledge and technology gaps to be addressed in collaborative funded projects, to de-risk much needed investment in reaching higher technology readiness levels (TRLs) for biobased processes, and to create a critical mass in bringing the best ideas to bear on innovation in the biobased sector. This means structuring the sector and leading the way to creating a circular bioeconomy in Europe. As a cluster member, we represent several of our SMEs in BIC. We are a member of the programming core team, which we are chairing in 2021, a member of the education team, and give active advice on future strategic orientations and work programmes of the PPP.
Partners: project coordinated by Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF)
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković
BioeconomyVentures
BioeconomyVentures aims at creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem within the bio-based industry sector by off ering support, brokerage, and networking services to the relevant stakeholders. As Ambassador of the project, CLIB informs its network of the opportunities for example in the open innovation calls and organises two SME and Start-up Pitch Events @CLIB to bring innovators and investors together.
Your contact:
BIO.NRW
Merowingerplatz 1
D-40225 Düsseldorf
Mail: bio.nrw@bio.nrw.de
Phone: +49 (0)211 385 469 – 9200
Fax: +49 (0)211 385 469 – 9220
BIO.NRW
BIO.NRW is the official network for biotechnology and life sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Founded in 2008, BIO.NRW acts on behalf of the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of NRW. The office is s managed by Forschungszentrum Jülich.
BIO.NRW initiates and supports national and international collaborations between research institutions, companies, networks, and investors. Another focus of BIO.NRW’s activities is to support start-ups with financing, internationalization, and gaining access to public funding.
BIO.NRW also offers an event platform for topics in the field of life sciences. The network’s work is divided into two main focus areas: BIO.NRW.red for topics related to pharmaceutical biotechnology and BIO.NRW.eco for topics concerning the bioeconomy and sustainability.
To monitor the development of NRW as a biotechnology location, BIO.NRW annually records and analyses key performance indicators for the biotechnology sector in NRW. BIO.NRW also helps to promote NRW as a location through its participation in trade fairs at national and international level.
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković
Collaboration with Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
CLIB signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the innovation and economic development agency Trois-Rivières (IDE-TR) in 2021. While the local parameters are different, both regions share a challenge of structural change and the desire to implement a bioeconomy. Together with our members we will identify potential areas for collaboration, build connections between our networks, and identify funding opportunities. A first visit by a delegation from Trois-Rivières has already taken place and CLIB members took the chance to contact the networkers from IDE-TR.
Former projects
ALIGN
Funded by: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Duration & volume: 2018 – 2021, 1.8 M EUR
Partners: Axxence Aromatic, CLIB*, Fraunhofer CBP, LXP Group, Phytowelt GreenTechnologies, UPM Biochemicals (all DE); KU Leuven, VITO (both BE)
Your contact at CLIB: Sarah Refai, Tobias Klement, Annika Thamm
The production of aromatics is crucial for the chemical industry. Currently, virtually all aromatic building blocks are produced from fossil oil. However, the availability of aromatic hydrocarbons from fossil sources will decrease, as less crude oil will be refined for energy use. The resulting gap between supply and demand can be met by using bio-based, renewable feedstocks to produce aromatics. This is addressed in the BIG-Cluster project ALIGN. It targets highly functionalised bio-based aromatics, which can be used in many different fields of applications, such as coatings, adhesives, or cosmetics.
The ALIGN Project started in April 2018 and combines experts in the field of bio-based aromatics from academia and industry. It deals with the conversion of lignin to bio-based aromatics with a high market value. The consortium consists of three partners with extensive expertise in lignin extraction and depolymerisation (Fraunhofer CBP, KU Leuven, LXP), one partner conducting downstream processing procedures (VITO) and three partners focusing on potential applications (Axxence Aromatic, Phytowelt Green Technologies, UPM Biochemicals) to produce high-pressure-laminates as well as natural vanillin for food and beverages. The German project partners will receive 1.3 m EUR from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
White Paper ALIGN
BioCOnversion
Funded by: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Duration & volume: 2018 – 2021, 1.5 M EUR
Partners: CLIB*, Covestro, Fraunhofer IME, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, nova-Institut, Ruhr University Bochum, RWTH Aachen University, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, VDEh Betriebsforschungsinstitut (all DE); TU Eindhoven, Wageningen University (both NL); TU Graz (AU); BBEPP, VITO (both BE)
Your contact at CLIB: Sarah Refai, Markus Müller, Annika Thamm
The project BioCOnversion started in April 2018 and aims at developing and implementing a sustainable process from carbon monoxide (CO) to a defined polymer precursor by evaluating different technologies. In an international consortium, industrial and academic partners join their high-level, multidisciplinary expertise to develop a microbial bioconversion process comprising the primary conversion of CO/syngas into an intermediate alcohol through gas fermentation and the enzymatic upgrading conversion into the polymer precursor.
The project focusses on developing technologies for the individual process steps and on the conceptional design of the overall process. In a first phase, the individual process steps will be independently developed. Then, their performance will be evaluated by techno-economic assessments and life cycle analysis. Based on these results, the overall process will be experimentally validated and further optimised. A final process evaluation will be done from a techno-economic viewpoint along the whole development chain. BioCOnversion is coordinated by CLIB and unites several innovative providers of conversion and recovery technologies – making a high-value building block available from a CO-based, climate friendly process.
BIVAC – Bio-value chains for novel high-value products and compounds
Funded by: INTERREG Deutschland – Nederland
Duration & volume: 2017 – 2020, 2.4 M EUR
Partners: Phytowelt GreenTechnologies*, CLIB, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (all DE); Biorefinery Solutions, BioTreatCenter – Greenport Venlo, Grassa, NewFoss (all NL)
Your contact at CLIB: Dennis Herzberg
Aiming at resource-efficient, environmentally sound, and sustainable production, this industry-driven project addresses the development of novel, economically viable products and processes based on waste streams originating from agriculture (e. g. grass, vegetables), horticulture, forestry, and food industry. Envisioned products include health-promoting food additives, fermentable sugars for the production of high-value compounds like astaxanthin, enzymatically optimized feed-additives, as well as fruit flavours to reduce large-scale on-field production and CO2 emissions. In the consortium, partners from industry and academia located at different positions in the value chains of the agricultural and food/feed industry are brought together.
BusinessP
Funded by: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of NRW (MWIDE)
Duration & volume: 2018 – 2020, 629,000 EUR
Partners: RWTH Aachen University*, University of Bonn, CLIB (all DE)
Your contact at CLIB: Dennis Herzberg, Tobias Klement, Markus Müller, Sabine Kortmann
Phosphorous is a finite resource of outstanding economic and social importance, which is currently exclusively obtained by rock mining. Phosphorous is mainly used in fertilizers (80 %) but its higher value-added products or uses are manifold and comprise e. g. melting salts, food additives, metal processing, street construction, or fire protection agents. The reduction of rock phosphorous use and replacement by phosphates from renewable resources would enable the closing of the phosphorous cycle and an efficient P-management. An emerging field is the enzymatic production of green phosphate by processing of feed plant material and food manufacturing side products (oilpress cakes and plant meals).The aim of the Business-P project is to answer the questions whether, at what cost, and in which valorisation products, processes using organically bound phosphorus, and related recycling strategies of this valuable resource, are economical. Within the Business-P project, the work group of Dr. A. J. Ruff from Institute of Biotechnology headed by Prof. Dr. U. Schwaneberg at RWTH Aachen University investigates the extraction of phosphorous from rape seed press cake and meal. Their expertise in protein engineering is applied to generate tailor-made enzymes for the P-recovery strategy. RWTH provides key data for economic assessments. Prof. Dr. S. Bröring, chair of Technology and Innovations Management in Agri-business at University of Bonn, analyses the new emerging value chains, valorisation potential, market entry, and the patent landscape. CLIB arranges the dissemination by organising workshops that identify valorisation potentials and facilitates a transfer of the generated data into industrial follow-up projects.
Dutch-German Network Circular Bioeconomy
Funded by: INTERREG Deutschland – Nederland
Duration & volume: 2019 – 2022, 992,000 EUR
Partners: CLIB*, EE Energy Engineers GmbH, Hochschule Niederrhein – University of Applied Science, Stadt Krefeld, WFG Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Krefeld, USV Agrar – Unternehmensberatung & Sachverständigenbüro Dr. A. Becker (all DE); Bio Treat Center, Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, Gemeente Venray (all NL)
Your contact at CLIB: Dennis Herzberg, Sarah Refai, Sabine Kortmann
This project will establish a lively network for the circular and bioeconomy linking the Netherlands and NRW. It is funded by the INTERREG-programme Deutschland-Nederland and features three core working groups dealing with the topics “regional material flows”, “innovative business models”, and “qualification and training” within a circular bioeconomy. In addition,the project will offer an innovation coupon scheme to SMEs to further develop their business cases and foster their processdevelopment. It aims to network stakeholders from agriculture, logistics, biotechnology, academia, and the processing industry, as well as municipalities through numerous events, inspired by CLIB’s structured networking process. The network will create new cross-border value chains, business models, and collaborations.
CKB – CLIB-Competence Centre Biotechnology
Funded by: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and MWIDE
Duration & volume: 2018 – 2021, 8 M EUR
Partners: CLIB, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, TU Dortmund University, Bielefeld University* (all DE)
Your contact at CLIB: Katrin Kriebs, Markus Müller, Annika Thamm
The CLIB-Competence Centre Biotechnology is a multi-site joint project fostering a sustainable, resource-efficient economy in North Rhine-Westphalia, performed by Bielefeld University, TU Dortmund University, the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and the Forschungszentrum Jülich. The aim of the CKB is to provide an integrated infrastructure for the bioeconomy in NRW: from gene and enzyme to process and product. The CKB will – based on previous experience – build up a multi-site, integrated centre. Through this, it will establish innovative technologies in NRW and bring them to a first scale of application. More than 30 working groups are working on the three megatrends resource efficiency, raw materials, and health. As a subcontractor, CLIB is responsible for the coordination of public relations and the integration into the local, national, and international economy via SMEs and industry.
CROSSBEE – Cross-border Bio-Economy Education
Funded by: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Duration & volume: 2018 – 2022, 186,000 EUR
Partners: b.experts GmbH, CLIB*, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences and Arts, RWTH Aachen University, SeSaM Biotech GmbH (all DE); Ghent University (BE); Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University (both NL)
Your contact at CLIB: Katrin Kriebs
CROSSBEE tackled the challenge of combining diverse disciplines and expertise in different fields relevant for bioeconomy under the coordination of CLIB within a four year project funded until 2022. CROSSBEE implemented two activities in the BIG-Cluster region: Within the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “Biobased Products for a Sustainable (Bio)economy”, students from all over the world learned bioeconomy basics and discovered state-of-the-art biobased product examples. The MOOC was first published in January 2019 and attracted more than 8,000 learners worldwide in three runs. Within the student competition Global Biobased Business Plan Competition (G-BiB), the student teams have been trained individually in competencies and skills relevant for entrepreneurship and thus learned to think outside the scientific box. Teams from Germany, Belgium, Finland, and the UK took part in the competition. In Germany alone 10 teams have been supported of which 4 already founded a company during the project lifetime.
HiPerIn 2.0 – Shaping the next generation of bio-based High-Performance Ingredients
Funded by: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of NRW (MWIDE)
Duration & volume: 2020 – 2023, 600,000 EUR (realization phase)
Partners: CLIB*, KWI Essen as subcontractor (both DE)
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković, Katrin Kriebs, Markus Müller, Tobias Klement
A key strength of biotechnology is the conversion of functional, bio-based raw materials to high-quality products in diverse areas including specialty chemicals, cosmetics, or the food industry. These “high performance ingredients” (HiPerIns) can thus pave the way for new technologies, new processes and ultimately a bioeconomy. In addition to new intrinsic innovations, the biotechnological sector is increasingly influenced by external factors: disruptive technologies such as digitalisation and the drive towards a circular economy are radically changing existing markets, regulatory framework conditions and consumer wishes concerning sustainability are crucial for the success of a product today.
In 2020, the realisation phase of HiPerIn 2.0 was granted funding by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. With a funding volume of 600.000 € und a funding period of three years, it will allow CLIB to tackle the most urgent hurdles, to find the most promising product groups and to create a lasting impact for the biotechnology scene in NRW. The cross-sectional topics digitalisation, circular (bio-) economy, regulatory frameworks, end-of-life-product design, and public perception will be analysed in relation to the product and market areas of food and feed, home and personal care, coatings, adhesives, and textiles.
The Center for Environmental Management, Resources and Energy (CURE) at Ruhr-University Bochum is carrying out a study on “(non)-acceptance of high-performance ingredients”.
Industrial Biotechnology Innovation and Synthetic Biology Accelerator (EU-IBISBA)
Funded by: Horizon2020
Duration & volume: 2020 – 2023, 4 M EUR (Preparation Phase)
Partners: Institut National des Sciences Appliquées – INSA* (FR), 17 other project partners from across Europe, CLIB as subcontractor to RWTH Aachen University
Your contact at CLIB: Tobias Klement
The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation and Synthetic Biology Accelerator (EU-IBISBA) is a distributed research infrastructure aiming at supporting research in industrial biotechnology. IBISBA simplifi es access to advanced multidisciplinary services that accelerate end-to-end bioprocess development and contributes to the delivery of low environmental footprint technologies for a wide variety of market sectors. To achieve this, IBISBA will provide access to first class facilities for all industrial biotechnology professionals, including academic researchers, SMEs and large companies. In the Preparation Phase (PREP-IBISBA), CLIB supports RWTH Aachen University as a subcontractor by gathering the needs and concerns of the German biotechnology scene to shape the further development of the project.
IBISBA is currently being developed in two projects: IBISBA 1.0 and PREP-IBISBA. Both receive funding from the EU’s H2020 research and innovation programme and are defi ned by independent contractual agreements (n° 730976 and 871118) with the European Commission.
MPowerBio – eM-POWERing SME Clusters to help SMEs to overcome the valley of death
Funded by: Horizon2020, BBI JU under GA ID 887501
Duration & volume: 2020 – 2022, ca. 1,5 M EUR
Partners: Agro Business Park* (DK), ten partners from nine European countries (including CLIB)
Your contact at CLIB: Tatjana Schwabe-Marković, Katrin Kriebs, Sabine Kortmann
Many SMEs experience that even though they have a good idea or a good product, they cannot get an investor. They need to be able to pitch their idea perfectly, to the right investors and at the right time. Now, SMEs can get support from the MPowerBio project to overcome this barrier.
The MPowerBIO project will obtain feedback from clusters, SMEs, and investors on the concrete challenges they have regarding investments. From these experiences, an online platform will be set up containing digital tools for evaluating investment readiness. Online training modules and regional trainers’ events will be organised to build the capacity of clusters to train their SME members and give them the best possibilities for preparing and presenting high-quality projects to investors. The best SME projects from these events will be selected by investors, and invited to one of two European finals, which are based on the European Bioeconomy Venture Forum model, run by several of the consortium members. At the final, the selected companies will present their ideas to a panel of investors and experts from large organisations and venture funds in Europe, with the aim of attracting capital to grow and develop their business. A total of 72 high-quality, screened and investment-ready SME are expected to pitch at the two final events. The project intends to screen and support 350 SMEs towards this goal.
MPowerBIO is coordinated by Agro Business Park (DK), and has ten partners from nine European countries. It has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 887501.
RIN Stoffströme – Model Region for Innovative and Sustainable Material Flow
Funded by: Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of NRW (MKW)
Duration & volume: 1st phase, 2014 – 2016; 2nd phase 2017 – 2020, 450,000 EUR (phase 2)
Partners: CLIB*, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Abfallwirtschaft, EnergieAgentur.NRW (all DE)
Your contact at CLIB: Dennis Herzberg, Sabine Kortmann
To improve utilisation of side and waste streams in industry, agriculture, or forestry, the so-called regional innovation network (RIN) “model region for innovative and sustainable material flow” was set up in 2014. The project’s goal is to improve exploitation of biomass, wastes, and side streams in the region. Using this approach, the RIN addresses the grand societal challenges of resource scarcity and climate change. To achieve a better utilisation of biomass as well as side and waste streams, several hurdles must be tackled. Initially, concrete resource potentials in the region must be defined. In this regard, aspects such as, for example, seasonal availability, energy density, and ownership of the feedstocks must be considered. The RIN Stoffströme also seeks to identify practical hurdles for using biomass and waste streams to produce intermediates for the chemical industry. A close and continuous dialogue with practitioners from waste management companies, farmers, municipalities, and processing industries is necessary to define these hurdles, which can be of a technical, regulatory, or societal nature.
