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GermanTransBIB – Transfer network to accelerate the industrial bioeconomy

The bioeconomy concept aims to reduce dependence on non-renewable raw materials and instead rely on biological, renewable resources and biogenic residues. The approach combines ecological sustainability with economic growth. Innovations in the fields of biotechnology, green chemistry and the sustainable…

The bioeconomy concept aims to reduce dependence on non-renewable raw materials and instead rely on biological, renewable resources and biogenic residues. The approach combines ecological sustainability with economic growth. Innovations in the fields of biotechnology, green chemistry and the sustainable use of resources play an important role here.

However, the transfer of bioeconomic developments from research laboratories to industrial production is progressing very slowly. Promising bioeconomic solutions are already available in Germany today, but are often not ready for industrial production. Biotechnological innovations that have been successfully developed in the laboratory must first be validated in an industry-oriented environment before production can be scaled up and market acceptance can be generated with a corresponding willingness to invest. As the test environment required for this, e.g. the construction of demonstration plants, is very cost-intensive and associated with technical and regulatory challenges, experts refer to this phase of the technology maturity model as the ‘Valley of Death’.

The aim of the nationwide TransBIB funding project is to accelerate the transfer and scaling of bioeconomic innovations:

✔ Networking bioeconomy stakeholders “bottom-up” throughout Germany

The TransBIB transfer network links the example regions of the industrial bioeconomy and pools expertise in research, industry and politics in order to make scalable bioeconomy technologies accessible to industry more quickly from the bottom up. TransBIB forms the national framework for accelerating the bioeconomy and actively promotes cooperation with the state ministries responsible for the bioeconomy, including the Federal Government’s Bioeconomy Council and the Industrial Bioeconomy Dialogue Platform.

✔ Inventory of the “one-stop store” bioeconomy

Knowledge on the bioeconomy has so far been very scattered and fragmented. TransBIB is therefore conducting a Germany-wide inventory of industrial sites and databases in order to subsequently bundle them in a new “one-stop store”. In addition, important bioeconomy topics are being prepared by expert networks and communicated to specific target groups.

✔ Prediction and evaluation of new bio-based value chains

New bio-based value chains are needed to achieve independence from oil. To this end, a digital tool will be used to digitally record material flows in the sample regions, make them usable and thus develop new value creation networks. These will then be evaluated in terms of their feasibility and sustainability and proposed to the example region for implementation.

✔ Easy access to regulatory and certification topics

TransBIB will provide easy access to regulatory issues and certification for companies and develop proposals to simplify them.

✔ Training the specialists of the future

The transition of the economy to bio-based circular systems requires new skills for industry specialists. TransBIB is therefore developing future-oriented training concepts to counteract a shortage of skilled workers in Germany.

The “TransBIB” project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) as part of the “Directive to promote the use and construction of demonstration plants and model regions for the industrial bioeconomy” with a total of over €5.6 million. The project sponsor is VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH. The first funding period will run for 36 months from October 2023 to September 2026. The TransBIB consortium consists of 14 partner organizations, including universities, research institutes, innovation clusters and regional development companies as well as other associated partners and subcontractors. The joint project is headed by Dr. Matthias S. Scholz at the Technical University of Munich.

Gefördert durch das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, Logo

TransBIB@TUM

Prof. Dr. Michael Zavrel, Professor of Bioprocess Engineering at the TUM Campus Straubing, is developing the process simulation database for evaluating the new value chains. Bernhard Kraus, Managing Director of the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning, is responsible for knowledge transfer through tailor-made training programs for specialists and managers as part of the funding project.

Contact: transbib@tum.de

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