More than 20 stakeholders from the model regions of the industrial bioeconomy are pooling their expertise in the nationwide TransBIB funding project. Their goal is to accelerate the transfer and scaling of bio-economic innovations. The project is funded by the BMWK with 5.6 million euros. The SKZ Plastics Center is also involved in the project.

The SKZ is offering a workshop on the bioeconomy on June 6. (Photo: Luca Hoffmannbeck, SKZ)

SKZ is part of the nationwide TransBIB funding project - Workshop on June 6, 2024

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

Transfer is slow
However, the transfer of bio-economic developments from research laboratories to industrial production is very slow. Promising bioeconomic solutions already exist in Germany, 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 with the corresponding willingness to invest can be generated. Because the necessary testing environment, such as the construction of demonstration plants, is very costly and involves technical and regulatory challenges, experts refer to this phase of the technology maturity model as the "valley of death. 

Bottom-up networking of bioeconomy actors throughout Germany
The TransBIB transfer network links the exemplary regions of the industrial bioeconomy and pools expertise from research, industry and politics in order to make scalable bioeconomy technologies available to industry more quickly from the bottom up. TransBIB forms the national framework for the acceleration of the bioeconomy and actively promotes cooperation with the state ministries responsible for the bioeconomy, including the Bioeconomy Council of the Federal Government and the Industrial Bioeconomy Dialogue Platform. 

Inventory of the "one-stop-shop" bioeconomy
To date, knowledge about the bioeconomy has been very scattered and fragmented. For this reason, TransBIB is conducting a nationwide inventory of industrial sites and databases in order to bundle them in a new "one-stop store". In addition, expert networks are preparing important bio-economy topics and communicating them to specific target groups.

Forecasting and assessing 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 chains. These will then be evaluated for feasibility and sustainability and proposed to the model region for implementation.

Easy access to regulatory and certification issues 
As part of TransBIB, easy access to regulatory and certification issues for companies will be provided and proposals for their simplification will be developed. The transition of the economy to bio-based circular systems requires new skills for industry professionals. TransBIB therefore develops future-oriented training concepts to counteract the shortage of skilled workers in Germany.

SKZ offers several free services
The SKZ is also a partner of TransBIB and offers various free services for interested companies, such as de-risking reports. Together with the companies, challenges and potentials are identified, suitable raw materials and technologies are researched, and a risk assessment of the company's own idea is carried out.   

Workshop on the bio-economy on June 6 in Würzburg
The SKZ offers a free workshop on this topic on June 6, 2024 in Würzburg (online participation possible) for companies that want to switch their production or materials to bio-based alternatives but do not know how to do so. What do biogenic, bio-based and biodegradable mean? The workshop helps to understand these terms and to implement them successfully. 

About the project:
The TransBIB project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWK) under the "Directive on the Promotion of the Use and Construction of Demonstration Plants and Model Regions for the Industrial Bioeconomy" with a total of more than 5.6 million euros. The project is managed by VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH. The first funding period runs 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 project is led by Dr. Matthias S. Scholz of the Technical University of Munich.