Microbial Catalysis

The metabolism of microbes is able to convert a variety of substrates into a multitude of chemical compounds. We take advantage of this principle and use microorganisms in integrated power‑to‑X‑to‑Y‑process cascades to convert simple C₁ compounds like methanol or formic acid (which are directly accessible from CO₂) into valuable chemical products through fermentation. In addition, we are working on next-generation sugar substrates, such as xylose, which can be derived from hemicellulose.

We use modern methods of genetic engineering to achieve this. By modeling the metabolism with connected metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, we can systematically influence and improve the metabolism of microorganisms and develop efficient production strains. This allows us to combine the scalability of power‑to‑X with the versatility of industrial biotechnology and to produce numerous commercial products from CO₂.

By combining Power-to-X with Industrial Biotechnology to create Power-to-X-to-Y process cascades, the recycling of CO₂ in CCU applications is no longer limited to the synthesis of simple products (“X”) such as methanol or formic acid. Rather, they can serve as raw materials for future (bio)refineries, in which more complex and valuable platform chemicals (“Y”) are produced through suitable process cascades.

The advantage of using methanol and formic acid as substrates lies primarily in their solubility in water, which allows for comparatively easy fermentation.

The current technological readiness of this approach is still at research level. We are currently working specifically on the development of high-performance production strains and efficient fermentation processes in order to achieve product yields and concentrations of industrial relevance.

At a glance

• Complex products with high value-added potential from purely renewable sources
• Sustainable production for a circular economy
• Independence of fossil fuels
• No competition with food production

• Microbial strain development through metabolic modeling and engineering
• Fermentation (laboratory scale) of C1 substrates (e.g., formate, methanol), sugars and other biogenic raw materials into chemical products
• Biobased polymer building blocks
• Microbial electrosynthesis

In the field of microbial strain development and downstream processing (DSP), we collaborate in particular with partners from the scientific community. However, we are also looking for collaboration with partners from industry for the application of biotechnological processes and for the application of biotechnologically synthesized products. These products are of particular interest to companies in the chemical industry, such as producers of “green” polymers or products made from sustainable platform chemicals.