Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGBAdded value through cooperation – shared innovations for a sustainable society
The bioeconomy has the potential for sustainable solutions that simultaneously preserve resources while responding to societal challenges. One of the first Fraunhofer institutes to recognize this was Fraunhofer IGB. Researchers at the three sites in Stuttgart, Leuna and Straubing develop innovative solutions along the entire value chain in a wide variety of application fields – from developing new raw materials to scaling up and producing the final product.
We also pursued this approach in the joint project EVOBIO, which saw Fraunhofer IGB take the lead together with the Fraunhofer IAP and IVV institutes. With the involvement of 15 other Fraunhofer institutes, concepts for sustainable value creation and production processes were developed. Combining their expertise, the Fraunhofer IGB researchers significantly contributed to the development of solutions in the field of biobased materials and wastewater treatment plants of the future. EVOBIO impressively demonstrated that we can make a significant contribution to the bioeconomy through cross-institutional collaboration.
Around the same time as this success, in 2020 the Fraunhofer Strategic Research Field (FSF) Bioeconomy was founded and we were appointed as the spokesperson team alongside Markus Wolperdinger. In this endeavor, our aim is to pool and represent all of the expertise Fraunhofer has to offer. Our roadmap “A Circular Bioeconomy for Germany”, which was delivered to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in December last year, has already been met with an enthusiastic response at national and international level. This shows once again that the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, with its combined areas of expertise, is a strong partner in industrial and political circles when it comes to transitioning to a sustainable economy and way of life.
On behalf of all institutes involved in the FSF Bioeconomy, we would like to wish Fraunhofer IGB all the best for its 70th anniversary and say a huge thank you for the good and reliable cooperation we have enjoyed over the years. Together, we look forward to a future that will further advance a sustainable and circular bioeconomy driven by joint projects and initiatives.
Andrea Büttner and Alexander Böker