CLIB - The Bioeconomy Cluster - CLIB2021
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CLIB
Edition 2016 / 2017
The Bioeconomy Cluster
for International Chemical and Energy Markets
Contents Introduction 3 CLIB2021 - Who we are & what we do 4 Education - Training the next generation of biotech professionals 6 The role of university start-ups for innovation transfer 8 Industrial Applications of Marine Enzymes (INMARE) 9 Regioanl Innovation Network Stoffströme 10 Bio Innovation Growth mega Cluster – BIG-C 11 High Performance Ingredients (HiPerIn) 12 For a different kind of economy 13 Communicating your research effectively 14 In dialogue with CLIB 18 CLIB in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) 22 CLIB in Europe 24 CLIB Worldwide 27 CLIB Office 30 CLIB Extended Board 31 CLIB Advisory Board 34 CLIB Members 36 Member Profiles 37 Contact / Imprint 67 2
Introduction
Dear Members and Friends,
Countries across the globe have agreed that anthropogenic been submitted for funding through the Ministry of Innovation,
global warming should be kept to less than 1.5 °C. The bio- and Science and Research of the German state of North Rhine-West-
circular economy can help to achieve this ambitious goal by low- phalia, NRW. It has a focus on products that can offer attractive
ering the carbon footprint of industrial processes and accessing business models for our start-ups and SMEs. Together with BIO.
sustainable carbon feedstocks. Initiating and supporting con- NRW and BioRiver, CLIB will offer dedicated events in the area
sortia along the value chain, which will develop new products of red biotechnology and will help to initiate consortia. “Produc-
and processes in enabling technologies for the bio- and circular tion of Biosimilars” will be the subject of a first workshop on this
economy, is a central pillar of CLIB’s strategy. topic in 2016.
Against this background, we have continuously developed CLIB After our highly successful delegation trip to China in 2015,
and successfully implemented new forms of cooperation at the which also led to the establishment of the CLIB China represen-
national as well as international level. Besides our annual CIC tation at Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Techno-
and topic-specific forum events, we organised several round- logy, a second trip to Asia is currently being planned for 2016.
table meetings focused on different markets. These dealt, for Furthermore, a trip to Canada will be organised, and further
example, with market and product demands for adhesives or collaboration opportunities will be evaluated together with BE-
cosmetic ingredients and created great interest from involved Basic and Flemish partners in India and Brazil. Internationalisa-
stakeholders. We are planning to adapt this successful format tion to Europe with a focus on Flanders and The Netherlands, as
to other areas of interest to our members. The First Network- well as to selected, highly dynamic, non-European regions with
ing Day in connection with our General Assembly in November good market potentials will remain an important element of our
2015 was another successful event, which included short pres- strategy.
entations from several of our members. The event saw numer-
ous attendees and received highly positive feedback. The foundation of new start-ups at academic institutions is
an essential element of successful technology transfer and
The positive evaluation of our BIG-C proposal within the innovation dynamics in industrial biotechnology. This is linked
German federal funding scheme “Internationalisation of to excellent education and an early involvement of students
Leading Edge Clusters” was surely one of the highlights in 2015. in industrial collaborations. It is one of our targets at CLIB to
CLIB was the only cluster distinguished in the field of biotech- become – together with other partners – even more active in
nology, proving once again its standing as one of Germany’s this field. The first thriving spin-offs in industrial biotechnology
pre-eminent clusters. Within the project, a concept to intensify in the last months prove this strategy to be right. We will also
our international collaboration with Flanders and The Nether- work to carry on the established CLIB-Graduate Cluster Indus-
lands in the circular and bioeconomy will be developed in 2016 trial Biotechnology.
and 2017. This will include selected, value chain oriented topics,
as well as a horizontal module on training. In the subsequent CLIB again saw a successful development in 2015 and now
implementation phase starting from 2018, reference projects ranks among the internationally leading clusters in industrial
will be initiated and funded. biotechnology and bioeconomy. CLIB advises political decision-
making at regional and state level and furthermore is a member
In 2016, we will significantly widen our portfolio in biotechnol- of the European PPPs BBI and SPIRE. We are looking forward
ogy. In addition to our current key topics, biotechnological uti- to a dynamic and exciting cluster development in the coming
lisation of renewable raw materials, waste streams to produce years, not least because of the initiated projects BIG-C, HiPerIn
educts for the chemical and RIN Stoffströme. The
industry, and the develop- follow-up of the concluded
ment of new biotechno- INTERREG IVB NWE project
logical processes, we will BioBaseNWE is also on the
introduce a new key topic: a horizon.
competence centre for the
biotechnological production Together with you, our
of highly functional ingredi- members and partners,
ents for the chemical, cos- we are looking forward to
metic, and food industries further establishing industrial
will be established by CLIB. biotechnology and the bioec-
This HiPerIn project has onomy in our society.
Thomas Schwarz Manfred Kircher
5
CLIB2021
Who we are & what we do
Investors &
Industry
Founders
CLIB2021
is an international open innovation cluster of large
companies, SMEs, academic institutes and universities as well
as other stakeholders active in biotechnology and the bioec-
Infrastructure
onomy as a whole. Our membership comprises an interna-
tional share of about 25 % (see figure 1). We aim to network
our members within and beyond the cluster to initiate new
research and business projects; we inform policy makers
about chances the bioeconomy offers, important topics to be
addressed, and signal challenges to overcome. Our goal is to
network stakeholders along and across value chains and to
identify new opportunities.
SME
CLIB2021
Academia
The identification of unusual value chains within the bioecon-
omy is a major task of our cluster. We reveal joint interests of
stakeholders, moderate a targeted partnering, and create im-
Fig. 1: CLIB members; highlighted segments show international members
plementation plans, including funding scenarios. The partners
themselves are subsequently in charge of implementation
and commercialisation. In Europe as well as in its international smaller format. These meetings, which can be conducted
network, our cluster serves as initiator, coordinator and dis- under confidentiality agreements, serve to build partnerships
seminator to push the bioeconomy. for project consortia or business relations. CLIB also initiates
We are a non-profit association, with our members shaping and moderates bilateral meetings.
the cluster’s interests and activities.
Our CLIB staff regularly organise delegation visits to interna-
Our extended board (see page 31) has 12 seats, with each tional regions of high (bio-)economic potential, often support-
group of members (industry, SME, academia and others) rep- ed by public funding. More about the activities we organised
resented by three seats. The extended board meets at regular in 2015 can be found on page 18.
intervals throughout the year to take strategic decisions, and
elects, from its members, the executive board of four chairper- From basic to applied research: our R & D projects, research
sons. At the CLIB office in Düsseldorf, a staff of nine carries out partners and academic initiatives
the cluster work and organisation. CLIB also receives strategic At CLIB, we aim to connect academic research to innovative
input from an international advisory board made up of several SMEs and multinational global players. Our universities have
experts from all areas of the bioeconomy (see page 34). strong track records in basic research while also branching
out into applied research and start-ups. Some of them have
A structured networking process platforms to generate novel technologies and new scientific
To achieve its goals, our cluster carries out different activities insights that are crucial for biotechnological processes and
and coordinates several associated programs which cover products. Others of our research organisations have a dedi-
diverse aspects of the bioeconomy. Our aim is to generate an cated applied focus, such as the German Fraunhofer Institutes
active network, which invites members to become involved, to and several of our international RTOs.
bring in their own ideas and to generate a real benefit for their
companies or institutions. To this end, we organise a number CLIB supports R & D cooperation projects within the context of
of events throughout the year: our annual conference, our the bioeconomy with a focus on industrial biotechnology. We
forum events, topic-specific workshops, roundtable meetings, provide expert advice for funding options and help find coop-
dedicated bilateral partnering meetings, and visits to partners, eration partners in academia, small and mid-sized enterprises
sites or conferences and trade fairs in Germany and abroad. (SMEs) and industry – at German, European and international
Our annual CIC covers emerging trends in the circular and levels.
bioeconomy, with a focus on markets. Forum events take up
important topics identified by CLIB staff or proposed by CLIB
members. In this format, 3 - 4 experts give short presentations
followed by discussion and networking. Our roundtable meet-
ings offer the opportunity for deeper discussions in a
6
CLIB2021
To ensure the next generation of excellent biotech profession- Going global
als, CLIB develops strategies for education and life-long learn- The bioeconomy is of course not a national, German, business
ing in the field of the circular and bioeconomy in its projects alone. It is a worldwide trend requiring a global approach. Our
BIG-C and the CLIB-GC. members and strong partners in Germany, Europe, Russia,
North & South America, and Australasia are the cluster’s links
The CLIB-GC is one of the largest structured doctoral pro- to global markets. We have CLIB contact points at our partners
grams in Europe, with over 130 doctoral students in total. It in Canada, China, Malaysia, and Russia. It is in these regions,
was established in 2009 by Bielefeld University, TU Dortmund and Europe, that most of our activities centre. Examples
University, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf and the include joint workshops and delegation trips to e.g. Brazil, Ma-
Forschungszentrum Jülich, with the central coordination laysia, Russia, Canada and China, which regularly lead to pro-
carried out by CLIB. The CLIB-GC ensures the qualification of jects submitted for funding or further business partnerships.
young scientists in key areas of industrial biotechnology (see CLIB is also active in two European public-private partnerships
pages 6). Education is also part of the horizontal flagship in funded within Horizon2020: BBI and SPIRE (see page 25).
BIG-C, where a cross-border approach is taken to train bioec-
onomy and circular economy experts at vocational, college, Closer to home, CLIB has worked to form strong trilateral
university and professional level. Here, CLIB joins forces with contacts between its German home state of North Rhine-West-
its partner regions represented by BE-Basic and VITO/FISCH phalia, The Netherlands and Flanders. This has recently been
(see page 7). recognised by the BMBF, which has awarded CLIB funding
for its project “BIG-C – a BioInnovation Growth mega Cluster”
From invention to innovation - as part of the funding programme “Internationalisation of
developing a successful business model Leading Edge Clusters” (see page 11).
An invention only becomes an innovation if it can be imple-
mented and commercialised. Especially start-ups and SMEs Circular economy and bioeconomy – main focus areas
benefit from access to a thriving ecosystem comprising The bio- and circular economy can help to achieve the ambi-
experts and facilities essential for bringing an innovation to tious goal of a maximum increase of anthopogenic global
market. To this end, CLIB seeks to include within its network warming of 1.5 °C by lowering the carbon footprint of indus-
competence in IP and legal issues, techno-economic evalua- trial processes and accessing sustainable carbon feedstocks,
tion, process development and scale-up. Our members also either from renewable resources or gaseous side streams.
include investors, consultants, infrastructure providers, pilot Biotechnology is a key enabling technology: specialised micro-
plants, and networks. organisms and enzymes help to access sugars in biomass and
convert them into valuable intermediates or highly function-
Supporting inventors in setting up their businesses is another alised molecules for the chemical industry and consumer
important focus of our cluster. CLIB, together with b.experts, brands, including food, feed, pharma and cosmetics. Other
assists young scientists in elaborating a business plan and innovative processes aim to fix carbon directly into intermedi-
establishing their company (see page 8). ate molecules, leading the way to sustainable carbon recycling.
Biotechnological methods can provide more efficient con-
version processes in chemical manufacturing by harnessing
biocatalytic potential able to perform highly specific reactions
even under moderate operating conditions.
This is why CLIB promotes industrial biotechnology within
the large concepts of circular economy and bioeconomy. The
cluster spans the area from sustainable resources, such as
biomass, and biogenic or fossil waste and side streams to
products such as small volume high performance ingredients
for dedicated applications. Focus points in this broad field are
set by the CLIB team in conjunction with CLIB members in an
iterative process.
7
CLIB Education
Training the next generation of biotech professionals
Biotechnology as a key enabling technology needs highly- Research projects in the Graduate Cluster span the entire
trained professionals who are at the same time specialised in range of industrial biotechnology. Examples include (meta-)
their field and can see the bigger picture to be able to con- genome analyses, optimising protein expression and biocataly-
tribute to progress in the bioeconomy. CLIB aims to foster an sis, and product purification. A special focus during the current
inter- and transdisciplinary approach in education, coupled second funding period is on the role of biotechnology as a
with a strong industry partnership. So far, the focus has central and pioneering research area of the bioeconomy.
been on the level of doctoral or PhD candidates within the
CLIB-Graduate Cluster Industrial Biotechnology. In 2015, we Each of the participating universities has different key
widened this with a session on “train the trainers” within the competencies:
Bio Base NWE project. In the future, the horizontal flagship
“Education” in the new BIG-C Internationalisation Project will Bielefeld University PolyOmics
broaden the scope to include universities of applied science
and a life-long learning component. Biocatalysis and
TU Dortmund University Downstream Processing
University of Düsseldorf/
Expression and Biocatalysis
FZ Jülich
CLIB-Graduate Cluster Industrial Biotechnology
During their doctoral studies, students often join a company
The structured doctoral programme is one of the largest
for an industrial internship. They receive training in labora-
in Europe and was initiated in 2009 as a close collabora-
tory techniques outside their own area of expertise by joining
tion between Bielefeld University, TU Dortmund University,
GC-internal summer schools and are encouraged to join an
Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf and the Forschungsze-
external laboratory for a research stay.
ntrum Jülich. It offers unique interdisciplinary training at the
interface between academic and industrial research in bio-
So far, the CLIB-GC has generated an output of over 70 alumni
technology with a total funding of EUR 12 million and over 130
who are now working in industry or academia, over 300 peer-re-
doctoral students. The program is co-funded until the end of
viewed publications, 10 patents and three start-up companies.
2016 by the three participating universities and the Ministry of
Innovation, Science and Research (MIWF) of the German state
“The close connection of the CLIB-Graduate Cluster with
of NRW.
research and industry partners from CLIB2021 has proven
successful in jump-starting the careers of the GC-alumni. It
CLIB has been charged with the central coordination of the
will be important to keep the alumni, who are now increas-
Graduate Cluster and brings its strong biotech network to
ingly entering research and industry, actively engaged with
the table. The link with CLIB provides chances for collabora-
our cluster.”
tion with companies in industrial biotechnology and offers
graduates a strong and early connection to applied research
Dr. Thomas Schwarz, Chairman CLIB2021
in industry. This means excellent opportunities for our region
to recruit highly trained young scientists with interdisciplinary
backgrounds in the bioeconomy.
8
CLIB Education
CLIB involves these young and interdisciplinary graduates in exist at a regional level. BIG-Training aims to establish BIG-C
its network, for example through presentations at our annual wide coordinated education and training curricula. In doing
CLIB International Conference or our forum events. We so, it will build on these regional activities and develop new
welcome and promote their initiatives, such as the annual GC- models to fill existing gaps. It will be important to align the
Symposium “From Gene to Protein and Beyond” or the very region’s activities and intensify the exchange of participants,
successful participation of students from Bielefeld University training topics and education concepts.
as well as our CLIB member RWTH Aachen University, at the
iGEM competition at the MIT. Already in September 2015, BIG-C organised a first workshop
in Eindhoven to explore possibilities for cooperation and joint
Train the Trainer education programmes for the circular bio-based economy
Recruiting a well-skilled labour force, especially in the field of with Dutch, Flemish and German universities and colleges. In
process operators, technicians, or bioprocess operators, is one 2016, thanks to the internationalisation project funded by the
of the main challenges that the technology sector throughout BMBF, these initial efforts will be strengthened. A roadmap
North West Europe currently faces. One of the Bio Base North has been developed, which includes a white paper defining
West Europe (NWE) project’s aims was to promote innovation bioeconomy education needs as well as a study to evaluate
and training for the biobased economy. It focused on second- common education activities to be funded and implemented in
ary vocational, educational institutes and technical colleges the short and medium term and to formulate long-term goals
in the NWE countries to train future professionals for the in cross-border cooperation. In 2017, the BIG-C project will or-
industry. ganise a retreat for young researchers from the three regions
to intensify collaborations between academic institutes.
The project partner Bio Base Europe Training Centre (BBETC )
in Terneuzen (NL) developed an online, highly-specialized and
adapted tool to train process technicians as a part of life-long
learning. This was translated from Dutch into English.
Modern educational environments are able to teach students
both theoretical and practical aspects of the process industry,
however, a full range of demo-installations for (bio-)chemical
processes will usually not be available. E-learning and process
simulations can fill this gap by enriching regular lessons with
up-to-date practical sessions that are engaging and instructive.
Competencies and skills are developed, and can be monitored,
tested and tracked by use of the web platform’s capabilities.
For the (bio-)process industry itself, process simulations and
e-learning can make a huge contribution to the training of em-
ployees. Although installations became increasingly reliable,
start-up and shutdown procedures nevertheless remain a key
factor. Such competencies and skills can be monitored and
trained using process simulations. In October 2015, BBETC’s
instructors toured within the Bio Base NWE project the NWE
countries (UK, IRL, BE, NL, DE) to give live demonstrations of “Not only financial support - public or private - is significant
the capabilities of the web-based platform and state of the art but we need to make sure that the coming generations
library of e-learning tools and process simulations. are aware of the biobased opportunities – so biobased
economy needs to be part of their education. Knowledge,
BIG-C flagship circular economy education but also skills are important, which require courses as well
Within the tri-national BIG-C initiative, education has been as initiatives such as design and business competitions.
defined as a horizontal flagship. Recognising the importance Combining the region’s efforts will help to implement a joint
of education in providing a skilled workforce for the future Human Capital Agenda. Given the international orientation
bioeconomy, CLIB has included the module BIG-Training in its of the BIG-C-region, this should reach out beyond the region
BMBF-funded BIG-C project, which will help implement cross- – preferably also in a joint manner.”
border training in the circular economy. In BIG-C’s regions
Flanders, The Netherlands and NRW various and diverse tech- Prof. Dr. Luuk van der Wielen, President of BE-Basic
nical, academic and post-academic training activities already
9
Start-Ups
The role of university start-ups for the innovation transfer
Inventions from academia present an important innovation To convince industry or investors to finance a novel product or
pool, which encourages the further development of industrial process, it is crucial to demonstrate that the invented technol-
biotechnology. However, experience has shown that many ogy is controllable, or that remaining risks are calculable. In
valuable R&D results never move from lab to industrial ap- many cases, only lab-scale results can be provided by the aca-
plication and further to market. CLIB aims to foster, together demic institutes, but those are usually not sufficient to derive
with experienced partners and based on the know-how of its aspects like industrial feasibility, economic efficiency or scal-
network, the successful transfer of academic inventions into ability to industrial needs. Preparing resilient proof-of-concept
innovations. As such, the support of start-ups is an essential studies, which withstand industrial validation and are geared
element of CLIB‘s cluster strategy. to available technology and product-benchmarks, is crucial in
this regard. A structured approach to describing cus-
tomer benefits and the intrinsic value of the business
model are also key. Such measures are obligatory re-
quirements for collaborations with industry, especially
in industrial biotechnology.
Moreover, first reference projects with partners from
industry have significant value. Such collaborations are
able to demonstrate the level of industrial maturity of
a developed technology. For investors, this is a crucial
criterion for evaluating a technology. Therefore, CLIB
is a partner in projects which award funds for demon-
strating the industrial scalability of novel processes to
start-ups and SMEs via vouchers.
By applying the employee invention law also to inventions To intensify technology transfer of the various university-driv-
developed by professors in 2002, universities obtained the en inventions to industrial application, a lively start-up culture
right to exploit those inventions as their own. Since then, tech- is of utmost importance, especially in industrial biotechnol-
nology transfer has often been the responsibility of transfer ogy. Several funding programmes have been initiated by the
centres organised either by the universities themselves or as German government to support the incubation of start-up
publicly funded entities. These transfer centres act as innova- projects at universities. Funding measures like GO-Bio or EXIST
tion brokers aiming at the highest possible profit. Thereby, show first promising results, also in industrial biotechnology.
they focus on two strategies: short-term revenues cover- They provide several support actions like identification of im-
ing their expenses, as well as licence models for long-term plementable inventions or results by industry experts, genera-
incomes. To succeed in these strategies, transfer centres need tion of a comprehensive patent protection, and coaching by
inventions with a certain maturity, which makes their technical business development experts. Matchmaking with investors
and economic feasibility calculable. or partners from industry is another. Forming a well-balanced
and effective team of young innovators together with experi-
However, especially in industrial biotechnology, inventions enced founders and managers directly at the project start is
that come out of the laboratory are usually less mature and also of great importance. The incubation phase has to prove
present a challenge for these transfer centres. Here, start- two points: that the project has the potential to become a
ups come into play, as they offer an ecosystem in which the calculable investment case for investors, and that both the uni-
technologies can be developed further by the initial inventors. versity as a technology provider, as well as the founding team
They are highly qualified, have the required know-how and will get the maximal added value for their respective venture.
are motivated to take the risks of technology development in
order to lead their project to economic success. Hereby, bar- By integrating start-ups in its network and by providing valu-
riers to market entry are lowered, and the inventions become able contacts to industry and experts, CLIB will more and
more attractive to industry as well as investors. Additionally, more become an ecosystem for the incubation of start-ups in
this model offers income and reputation for the university as industrial biotechnology. Supported by experienced coaches
the origin of invention. Thus, start-ups play a key role in suc- and seed investors from its membership and network, CLIB
cessful technology transfer from university to industry. will help to close gaps within the innovation process and thus
contribute to a start-up culture that is geared towards the
market demands of the chemical industry.
10
INMARE
Industrial applications of marine enzymes (INMARE)
Innovative screening and expression platforms to discover The main objectives of INMARE are:
and use the functional proteins diversity from the sea. • Streamline and significantly shorten the pipelines of
marine enzyme and bioactive compound discovery for
Streamlining the pathways of discovery and industrial applica- industrial applications
tions of new marine enzymes and bioactives for targeted pro- • Develop marine enzyme collections with a high proportion
duction of fine chemicals, drugs and in environmental clean-up of promising all-rounders
is the aim of the EU-funded project INMARE in which CLIB is • Identify new lead products and deliver prototypes for new
actively involved as a partner aiming to facilitate successful biocatalytic processes based on marine microbial enzyme
technology transfer. resources for targeted production of fine chemicals, drugs
and materials for use in environmental clean-up applica-
The marine environment hosts some of the most challenging tions.
conditions on Earth, from high pressures in the deepest parts
of the ocean, to temperatures of more than 300°C at hydro- “Helping to bring the potential of marine biotechnology
thermal vents and extreme chemical conditions in hypersa- from a research stage to the market will be CLIB’s major
line brine pools and at cold seeps. The metabolic diversity of task in INMARE. We will use our expertise and network
microorganisms adapted to survive in these conditions could to transfer technologies from research to industry, foster
provide a source of enzymes uniquely able to perform in patent applications and an active start-up culture within the
industrial settings characterised by harsh physical and chemi- consortium.”
cal conditions. Often called microbial dark matter, the marine
biodiversity is as yet largely unknown and unexploited. Dr. Thomas Schwarz, Chairman CLIB2021
“We see enormous potential in marine biotechnology for in-
CLIB’s role in INMARE is to optimise the exploitation of the re-
dustrial applications. As part of the project INMARE, evocatal
search results. The cluster will assess results, provide feedback
will strengthen its metagenome libraries and sequence data-
regarding optimal technology transfer, provide exploitation
bases as a source for novel and robust biocatalysts. We look
strategies and will mediate the contact between academic
forward to working together with excellent international
researchers and interested industrial parties.
project partners from academia and industry to improve the
existing tools for straight enzyme identification and optimi-
The INMARE project brings together facilities, biotechnology
sation in order to shorten time-to-market.”
tools, genetic resources and scientific experts from more than
20 academic and industrial partners across 12 countries, to
Dr. Thorsten Eggert, CEO evocatal GmbH
mine for and use newly-discovered marine microbial enzymes
and metabolites for the targeted production of fine chemicals,
INMARE partners will collect samples from about thirty environmental clean-up technologies and anti-cancer drugs.
hotspots of marine microbial biodiversity in the search for rel- CLIB-members Bayer Technology Services, evocatal and Uni-
evant enzymes and bioactive compounds. They will construct versity of Düsseldorf are also among the partners.
and screen libraries for enzyme activity and analyse secondary
metabolites.
INMARE will contribute to a better
understanding of the character-
istics and occurrence of “all-
rounders”: enzymes with features
that can fulfil the demands of real
industrial processes. Libraries will
be screened against compounds
mimicking challenging chemi-
cal steps in actual applications.
This is expected to lead to much
faster and more efficient enzyme
development.
11
RIN Stoffströme
RIN Stoffströme
To improve utilisation of side and waste streams in indus-
try, agriculture or forestry, the so-called regional innovation
network “Model Region for Innovative and Sustainable Mate- RIN Stoffströme
rial Flow” (RIN Stoffströme) was set up in 2014. It is coordi- Region al es I n n ovat ion s n et z we rk
nated by CLIB in cooperation with the EnergieAgentur.NRW
and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Abfallwirtschaft (DGAW,
German Society for Waste Management) and is funded by the The RIN Stoffströme also seeks to identify practical hurdles for
North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry for Innovation, Science and utilising biomass and waste streams for the production of in-
Research (MIWF). The project’s goal is to improve exploitation termediates for the chemical industry. A close and continuous
of biomass, wastes and side streams in the region. Using this dialog with practitioners from waste management companies,
approach, the RIN addresses the grand societal challenges farmers, municipalities and processing industries is necessary
resource scarcity and climate change. to define these hurdles, which can be of a technical, regula-
tory or societal nature. Such hands-on problems need to be
In order to achieve a better utilisation of biomass as well as abstracted and translated back into the academic world, to be
side and waste streams, several hurdles have to be tackled. tackled by applied science. The underlying concept for such an
Initially, concrete resource potentials in the region have to be approach is called transdisciplinarity. In this regard, transdisci-
defined. In this regards, aspects like, for example, seasonal plinarity describes collaboration not merely at an academic or
availability, energy density and ownership of the feedstocks disciplinary level, but through active collaboration with people
have to be regarded. The RIN Stoffströme has initiated a study directly affected by the research and with community-based
funded by the INTERREG programme Deutschland-Nederland stakeholders. To identify some of these practical hurdles,
which analyses potential resource streams in the cities Krefeld the RIN team has organised workshops for technical as well
and Venlo as well as their vicinity. Led by the company Phyto- as socio-scientific topics. The workshop Biorefineries from
welt GreenTechnologies, the project consortium quantifies November 2015 is one example for the more technical-based
existing streams and performs a profitability analysis of approaches. After identifying applicable approaches, collabo-
transport, handling and storing of potential feedstocks. The rations and cooperative research projects for the technical
results of this study shall lead to a subsequent project which implementation should be initiated. These projects are not
addresses the implementation of innovative bioeconomy value part of the RIN itself, but will aim to be executed in funding
chains in the region. schemes like BBI and SPIRE or INTERREG.
Local
Bioeconomy On the socio-scientific side, the RIN Stoffströme
deals with the matter of societal acceptance for
the implementation of the circular and bioec-
onomy. In this regard, social groups like trade
Transdisciplinary unions, churches or associations are involved in
Team Work an ongoing process to discuss requirements for
firm societal concepts. One aspect of this topic is
how to effectively and efficiently communicate the
concept of the bioeconomy to the larger public. A
workshop organised in May 2015 underlined that
the term bioeconomy is something that provokes
a vast spectrum of reactions, ranging from positive
to negative. Moreover, many people are not even
aware of the concept at all. This poses a whole
range of problems when trying to set up a dialogue
with involved stakeholders.
An overview of practice examples in science com-
munication and a tool-box to overcome these
Utilization of hurdles is given on pages 14 - 17.
Residiual Materials Communication
and Acceptance
12BIG-C
Bio Innovation Growth mega Cluster – BIG-C
The Bio Innovation Growth mega Cluster (BIG-C) is a cross- years. The internationalisation of clusters and networks is part
border ‘Smart Specialization Initiative’ aiming to transform of the new high-tech strategy, through which the Federal Gov-
Europe’s industrial mega cluster in the Flanders region of ernment moves ideas to innovations and creates connections
Belgium, The Netherlands and the German state of North between science and industry, research and society.
Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) into the global leader of bio-based
innovation growth. The region has been a powerhouse of
“This award is as an acknowledgement of our competence
industrial innovation in the chemistry sector for decades. Its in-
and our efforts in the internationalisation of excellent re-
dustrial sector comprising chemical, food and other industries
search so far. With this funding we will be able to accelerate
contributes approximately 25 % to the cumulative GDP of EUR
the innovation collaboration already initiated in the BIG-C
1780 billion per year, making this one of the most prosperous
region and will help Germany to solidify its top position in
areas worldwide. Institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomics
research.”
and education are excellent; meaning the mega cluster already
excels at the four pillars of competitiveness.
Dr. Thomas Schwarz, Chairman CLIB2021
BIG-C was initiated by the three cluster organisations BE-Basic
(The Netherlands), CLIB (NRW, Germany) and Flanders Initia-
tive for Sustainable Chemistry (FISCH, Flanders, Belgium) with Within the BMBF project, the first two years will consitute a
their representatives Luuk van der Wielen, Manfred Kircher scoping phase, within which the two value chains “C1 gases
and Ludo Diels, who act on behalf of several other participat- to chemicals” and “Aromatics from lignocellulosic biomass”
ing bioeconomy organisations in their home regions. will be investigated. This will include detailed technology and
The overarching goal is a comprehensive feedstock change stakeholder analyses, leading to a prioritisation of best ap-
with a focus on regionally available, bio-based and sustainable proaches for the region. A subsequent implementation phase
raw materials, climate protection and the safeguarding of jobs will see the realisation of selected projects.
in the mega region.
Negotiations at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change
“The initiative is multi-lateral. The success of the project
Conference COP21 have underlined that the reduction of
strongly depends on the close collaboration of stakehol-
greenhouse gas emissions is of utmost importance to limit the
ders from academia and industry, engineers and natural
global temperature increase to a maximum of 1.5 °C above
scientists, policy makers and clusters from all three regions.
pre-industrial levels. Countries committing to a low-carbon
I encourage all stakeholders to contribute and to help shape
economy emphasise the importance of technology develop-
this initiative.”
ments to reduce fossil material use. Therefore, the objective of
BIG-C is to enable demonstration plants for the production of
Dr. Vera Haye, Project Leader BIG-C
chemicals and fuels based on sustainable resources – namely
biomass and material streams from industrial waste gases – in
the region. To realise those demo plants, industrial invest-
ments should be leveraged and combined with European and
regional funds.
C i rc u l a r Econo
my
Developing the industry infrastructure in the region will
require significant investments in new, emerging bio-based
value chains. Ludo Diels, one of the Flanders’ initiators
pointed out that “in order to capitalise on the bio-based op-
portunities, we need to enhance the development of logistics BIG-C
Internatio
and foster cross-border private and public investments and BioInnovation Growth mega-Cluster
other funding possibilities“.
na
The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research,
liz
y
at
om
as part of its “Internationalisation of Leading-Edge Clusters, n n
io
e co
Forward-Looking Projects, and Comparable Networks Strat- Bio
egy”, will support CLIB’s project “BIG-C – BioInnovation Growth
mega Cluster” with up to four million euros over the coming
13HiPerIn
High Performance Ingredients
Besides bulk chemicals and other high funding by the Ministry of Innovation,
volume materials, which CLIB addresses Science and Research of the German state
with the projects RIN and BIG-C, small of North Rhine-Westphalia. Furthermore,
scale, high performance molecules present the second day of the CIC2016 will be
an interesting niche for biotechnological under the umbrella theme of high perfor-
processes and applications. These mole- mance ingredients, represented by the
cules play an important role in the phar- application fields adhesives, cosmetics, and
maceutical, food and feed, and chemical functional foods. CLIB will also organise
industries. Particularly applications in troughout the year special forum events
the latter, like cosmetics, adhesives and and adjacent roundtable discussions to
polymer additives, can benefit from new support the initiation of R&D consortia in
functionalities, accessed by the use of high this field.
performance ingredients.
Combining different research areas like
The term high performance ingredients biotechnology, structural chemistry and
summarises functional components and process engineering has the potential to
compounds that are able to adapt product create new approaches and work-flows
properties to varying environmental condi- for a more targeted screening for novel
tions, such as, for example, temperature molecules. Comparable to established
dependant colour changes. Biotechnology processes in drug-development, structural
can provide access to molecules, which chemistry might offer deductions for the
cannot be produced by catalytic processes, later properties of a given molecule. This
or can only be synthesised in complex comprises properties like colour, taste,
multi-step reactions. This is a critical solubility or temperature stability. Such a
unique selling proposition of biotechnol- functional analysis at molecular level leads
ogy. Furthermore, this technology can to promising candidate targets for the
help to broaden the raw material base of favoured properties. Once screening has
the chemical, as well as the food and feed led to the discovery of a desired substance,
industry. Establishing biocatalytic produc- a suitable production strategy has to be
tion systems (for example for the manu- developed. Here, biocatalytic production
facturing of natural flavours or vitamins), systems are especially helpful to assemble
can help to utilise alternative raw materials complex – and often difficult to synthesise
and through this save primary agricultural – compounds. The high industrial demands
feedstocks. Another driver for implement- on the microbial systems concerning path-
ing bio-based techniques is to lower the ogenicity, substrate flexibility and stress
carbon footprint through more environ- resistance present a challenge for process
mentally sound production processes. development.
The identification, production and approval
of high performance ingredients demands
for more intensive research efforts and
longer development times with the associated increased risks,
compared to drop-in approaches. Since these molecules are
usually new to the market and show special properties and “This competence centre for the biotechnological production
functionalities, the necessary development and production, in- of highly functional ingredients for the chemical, cosmetic,
cluding research approaches, biocatalysts, and manufacturing and food industries will help to develop attractive business
processes, are also new. Against this background, an elaborate models especially for our start-ups and SMEs.”
collaboration between these technology fields is key to deliver-
ing target-oriented results in a timely manner. To support this, Dr. Thomas Schwarz, Chairman CLIB2021
CLIB aims to build a competence centre for high performance
ingredients. The set-up of this HiPerIn centre is proposed for
14Bioeconomy
For a different kind of economy
Evonik has been using biotechnological production methods based production of PA12. Methods that use plant oils, grains,
for decades. In addition to sustainable raw materials, these and sugars as raw materials for fermentation are referred to
methods provide the basis for a sustainable economy - the as first-generation biotechnology processes. This can lead to
bioeconomy. For the future, too, Evonik is betting on the use the challenge of competing uses - food on the one hand versus
of alternative raw materials and biotechnological processes, industry on the other. Second generation biotechnology cir-
in order to gain independence from fossil resources and to cumvents this problem by utilizing plant residues from forestry
offer new kinds of sustainable products. and agriculture.
The existing Evonik products, which serve the purposes of a To provide even greater independence from fossil fuels and
bioeconomy, can be divided into four different categories. individual renewable raw materials, scientists at Creavis, the
For one thing, there are products derived from biomass, strategic innovation unit at Evonik, are studying a biotechno-
and produced biotechnologically through fermentation. For logical method that is able to utilize synthesis gas from waste
instance, this includes the amino acids Biolys®, ThreAMINO®, streams. Syngas - gas mixtures consisting primarily of carbon
and TrypAMINO®. As feed additives, they are instrumental in monoxide and/or carbon dioxide and hydrogen - has been in
lowering the amount of resources required for the sustainable use for years for the synthesis of chemicals. New to the ap-
production of food for a growing world popula-
tion. A second group is made up of products
produced from a bio-based feedstock, such
as the polyamide VESTAMID® Terra. A third
group includes biologically degradable prod-
ucts, which also contribute to environmental
protection. One example is the surfactant
REWOCARE® BDS 15, which functions as a rinse
aid in automatic dishwashers and other hard
surface cleaning products. Furthermore, Evonik
offers a range of products that may themselves
be neither bio-based nor biodegradable but
are indispensable in enabling value creation
in the bioeconomy. For instance, this category
includes catalysts for various efficient methods
for the conversion of bio-based raw materials,
e.g. for the processing of dicarboxylic acids
(such as succinic acid to alcohols), for the hydrogenation of proach is the production of specialty chemicals from syngas
fats, oils, and sugars, for the manufacture of fatty amines, and with the aid of microorganisms. In addition, in the context of
for the production of biodiesel from vegetable oils. They are all the BMBF-sponsored project COOBAF (promotion number:
part of the Evonik catalyst portfolio. Another application that 01RC1105), Evonik has studied an alternative microbial pro-
contributes to the sustainability of biomethane production is duction route to CO2-based biotechnological plastics through
the SEPURAN® Green membrane. This membrane separates acetone fermentation. This, too, could be a sustainable alter-
carbon dioxide very efficiently from biogas, so that the remain- native to petrochemical production.
ing methane can be directly fed into the natural gas network.
Evonik sees the bioeconomy, and in particular industrial bio-
Numerous research projects at Evonik deal with the bioec- technology, as an innovative area with great potential for the
onomy of tomorrow. In the development of future polyamides, future. Therefore the company invested about ten percent of
for example, new intermediate products produced through its 2014 research budget in biotechnological projects. In the
industrial biotechnology are playing a central role. For in- coming years, this proportion will continue to rise. The capaci-
stance, Evonik has succeeded in developing a biotechnological ties for biotechnological products will also be expanded con-
method for the production of the high-performance polyamide tinuously. For instance, in the year 2020, Evonik wants to have
PA12. The work was funded by the German Federal Minis- sales of about 1 billion euros through industrial biotechnology
try of Education and Research (BMBF) (promotion number: in the Nutrition & Care Segment alone and thus make a global
0315205). The new method is marked by a significant reduc- contribution to a sustainable economy.
tion in the number of production steps. The new method
offers the long-term possibility of supplementing the crude-oil-
15Communication
How to interact effectively and efficiently with the public at large?
Frans van Dam, MSc (TU Delft, Biotechnology Department), objectives for your activities, and to identify the target group.
B. Eng. Frederik Schulze Spüntrup (Imperial College London), Moreover, it is the credibility of the information source,
Prof. Dr. Andrea Wanninger (HS Niederrhein, SC Unit) combined with the societal context of a scientific topic, which
determines the potential success of a communication activity.
Science communication (SC) in the bioeconomy is a crucial task
for researchers. Academia and small and medium enterprises Audience and objectives
(SMEs) face challenges with regard to effective and efficient The public at large does not exist, as the interest in science
interaction with their target groups. Best practice examples differs according to factors such as age, sex, education,
and a tool-box are given in order to facilitate the communica- socio-economic status and professional involvement. For
tion activities. example, SC by universities for the purpose of student recruit-
ment focuses on young people aged 16-22. Public research is
1. Setting the scene / intro required to better understand public opinion. A recent Dutch
If your work concerns the bioeconomy – which, as a reader of survey (box 1) shows that the public does not know the term
this article is probably the case – you will be able to explain ‘bio-based economy’, but many are in favour of its applica-
why developing the bioeconomy is so crucial to the future of tions. In communicating about the bioeconomy, we need to
mankind. However, ‘society at large’ is not automatically con- pay serious attention to the food-fuel issue.
vinced of the relevance of the bioeconomy and some people
may not even be aware of it at all. Organisations may have different objectives for initiating SC
activities. These can be clustered in three main categories [2]:
Therefore, communication about what a bioeconomy is, as 1. Cultural objectives: Science is a cultural phenomenon and
well as the motivations for its accomplishment, is crucial. SC can be aimed at enriching education, art and popular
Communication in terms of ‘sending the message’ is easy. culture such as literature, TV and movies.
However, achieving effective communication is usually harder: 2. Economic objectives: Universities and institutes can use
‘how to get your message across to your target group in such SC as part of their strategies for recruiting students and
a way that it fulfils your objectives’. This is true for commu- high-class employees, as well as for funding research.
nicating the outcomes of a bio-based research programme, Knowledge-intensive companies communicate about
for spreading the word about a new technology as well as for science and technology for similar reasons, that being, for
convincing policy makers that more investment is needed. ‘credibility engineering’ and for attracting partners, inves-
tors and customers.
Overload 3. Democratic objectives: Governmental agencies may initi-
Your stakeholders or audience probably suffer from a con- ate activities aimed at direct forms of citizens’ participa-
stant overload of information via the internet and other tion in the decision-making processes related to science
media. Nowadays information travels fast and with an internet and technology.
connection, (informed) citizens can post their opinions on any
topic for everyone to see or discuss with others through online
forums and social media. Box 1: The public and bioeconomy [1]
Communicating science and technology with the audience In 2013, a public survey was conducted in The Netherlands about
at large is even more complex. Public research shows that the ‘bio-based economy’ (n=1,553, age > 18). 92% of respond-
most people (or politicians) are not interested in science as ents had never heard of the term ‘bio-based economy’, but they
such. Moreover, by their very nature, scientific results are did associate the term with related aspects such as ‘biological,
often ambiguous, and as a consequence, science progresses waste recycling and raw materials.’ After having had the term
slowly relative to news within other fields. Additionally, when explained, respondents who were positive about ‘sustainable
scientific issues are framed as negative, such as GMO foods, a development’ also cared about energy production, the type of
nuanced public debate is almost impossible. fuel used in cars and the materials used in the packaging of
consumer products.
So, where to begin when one wants to communicate about the For the year 2030, two-thirds would prefer if packaging were
bioeconomy? In this article, we take a closer look at communi- made from biomass. Over 80% worry that biomass for non-food
cation of research in the bioeconomy – communication aimed purposes may compromise food production. 50% think the gov-
at the marketing of products or services requires more special- ernment should invest in the bio-based economy, 26% think that
ized skills. The first step is always to carefully consider the companies should assume this responsibility. Universities and
institutes are the main sources of information on the bio-based
economy trusted by the public (71%).
16Communication
2. Examples of communication interventions Educational activities: Massive Open Online Course
Science Shops as an example for Citizen Engagement ‘Industrial Biotechnology’
Science shops combine the traditional way of researchers of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are recently devel-
addressing an audience with dialogue. People or organisations oped platforms for online education, enabling universities to
that have an interest in the benefits and risks of science prefer reach out to many thousands of people across the globe in a
to actively influence the prioritisation of research projects single course. MOOCs are generally 4 to 10 week courses at
or the formulation of research questions. But how do they an undergraduate level, consisting of video lectures, inter-
interact with scientists? An example is the ‘Science Shop’ – for active assignments and support via an online forum. Each
independent, participatory research support [3, 4]. week, students spend 3 to 10 hours in completing that week’s
assignments. There are many hundreds of MOOCs offered by
Science shops (Wissenschaftsläden, Wetenschapswinkels) are tens of platforms, with the Coursera platform offering various
found in universities or communities throughout The Nether- MOOCs on chemistry and biology, and edX offering some on
lands, Germany, Belgium, and in 21 other countries worldwide biology and industrial biotechnology (box 2).
[5]. They are demand-driven, starting
from questions (with societal impact)
posed by CSOs or NGOs, such as
residents’ associations, environmen-
talists or trade unions. Researchers
and mostly Masters students, take up
the topics and work scientifically to
find explanations and/or solutions.
Throughout the process, a continu-
ous knowledge exchange between
client, stakeholders and scientists
takes place and creates research
which includes different perspectives and generates robust The course ‘Industrial Biotechnology’ was developed in 2014
outcomes. After about a year, the collaboration usually ends and has run twice. Both times over 8,000 students registered,
with an advisory report and a final meeting with the groups of whom over 300 received a certificate. This MOOC covers
that benefit from the investigation. In the interaction between bio-based production, from raw materials to fermentation and
researchers and their clients, objectives are set in an advisory downstream processing. The course is led by five professors
committee. The Science Shops have been initiated to act as from Delft University of Technology, with additional lecturers
mediators in this civil engagement research and provide easy from industry and Campinas University Brazil.
access to scientists.
For universities, MOOCs are an excellent tool for global out-
How does this work for examples on bioeconomy? reach, marketing their education and research facilities, espe-
The Science Shop at the Wageningen University & Research cially given that many people have regular access to internet
Centre [6] was involved in the following project in 2008 – 2009: and speak English. To date, most MOOCs are in English, but
The foundation Nature and Environment in the city of Aalten increasingly, MOOCs in other languages, including Chinese,
wanted to know how sustainable cooperative manure fermen- Arabic and Spanish are being offered.
tation is. The final report was presented in a discussion with
about 50 inhabitants of the area, debating the planned biogas
production facility [7]. Box 2: Examples of MOOCs
The WILA Bonn is currently establishing the “bio innovation ‘Industrial Biotechnology’:
park Rheinland” [8] in North Rhine-Westphalia under the su- www.edx.org/course/industrial-biotechnology-delftx-ib01x
pervision of the University Bonn together with the citizens. The
aim is to set up a climate neutral Science and Commercial Park ‘Chemistry’:
using the bioenergy potential of fruit-growing and horticulture www.coursera.org/course/chemistry1
in the region. The project is estimated to finish by the end of
2017, leading to a competence and presentation centre unique
in Germany.
17You can also read
