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Team Bioeconomy

The Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster

The Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster brings together around 150 companies and 40 research institutions from all over Germany with the aim of developing plastics based on renewable raw materials. Various disciplines such as biotechnology, chemical engineering, polymer chemistry and plastics technology work together in the cluster.

The Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster brings together around 150 companies and 40 research institutions from all over Germany with the aim of developing plastics based on renewable raw materials. Various disciplines such as biotechnology, chemical engineering, polymer chemistry and plastics technology work together in the cluster.

The Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster was one of five winners of the BioIndustry 2021 competition run by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in 2006. Between 2007 and 2012, the BMBF provided funding totalling ten million euros for the implementation of the cluster. The majority of the funding was used for seven research projects, three of which have already been completed. The four remaining projects are still ongoing.

Since the end of the funding period, our team at BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg has been responsible for coordinating the Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster as part of our bioeconomy activities. Please contact our Bioeconomy Team for further information.

The initiative "BioIndustry 2021 - Development of new products and processes in industrial biotechnology" was launched by the BMBF in 2006 to facilitate the establishment of strategic clusters where universities, research institutions and the industry work together. The aim was to provide the basis for facilitating the transfer of ideas and research results in the field of industrial biotechnology at universities and research institutions into marketable commodities.

The Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster has been particularly successful: fischerwerke's partially biobased wall plug and Daimler's partially biobased engine cover are just two examples of products that arose from cooperative cluster projects.

Photo gallery: snapshots of members of an active cluster

Dr. Lars Ziegler from TECNARO GmbH presenting a portfolio of products made from lignin-based biopolymers. © BIOPRO
Students from Wirtemberg grammar school showing how nylon is produced. © Bächtle/ BIOPRO
On Monday 8th April 2013, Minister President Winfried Kretschmann visited the exhibition entitled “View on Biobased Economy – Bioeconomy” at the Hannover Messe trade fair. Dr. Ralf Kindervater, CEO of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH (left) presented the novel engine cover of the new Mercedes Benz A-Class, which consists to a large degree of biobased polyamide and is thus able to tolerate high temperatures. © BIOPRO
More than 90 people participated in the “tbdc” kick-off event. “ Kick-off-Veranstaltung. © BIOPRO/ Groß
The 3D printer and the 3D scanner attracted a huge amount of public interest. © BIOPRO
“Bioplastics for Automotive Engineering of the Future” theme day, 2011: The exhibition gave visitors an overview of biobased materials used for serial production and the history of biobased automotive parts. Presenting novel biopolymers was one of the major priorities of the event. © BIOPRO
TECNARO’s environmentally-friendly steering wheel is produced with cost-efficient quantities of material and reduced CO2 emissions: the steering wheel has a biobased ARBOBLEND© surface, an environmentally-friendly, skin-compatible foam filling, water-based varnish and separation agents, an emission-free wood coating as well as chrome-free leather fixed with water-based glue. © Bächtle/BIOPRO
Garnish mouldings made of ARBOFORM®, a thermoplastic material made of lignin and natural fibres. © BIOPRO
The “Bioplastics for Automotive Engineering of the Future” theme day attracted many visitors. © Bächtle/BIOPRO
This car engine compartment fan is made from the polyamide PA 5.10, a 100% biobased polymer. The polyamide was developed as part of the Biopolymers/Biomaterials cluster by BASF SE, Robert Bosch GmbH, Daimler AG, fischerwerke GmbH & Co. KG and the Institute of Biochemical Engineering at the Braunschweig University of Technology. © BIOPRO
Accelerator made from PA 5.10, which is sturdier and lighter than conventional polyamides. The material is particularly suitable where weight reduction needs to be combined with stability. © BIOPRO
Tina Kammer, managing director of InteriorPark, and Dr. Ralf Kindervater, CEO of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg, chaired the “material meets design” workshop programme. © BIOPRO
Ugandan fig tree fleece produced by BARK CLOTH_europe is used as a fashion feature in shoes. © BIOPRO/Groß
Dr. Timo Hammer from the Hohenstein Institut für Textilinnovation gGmbH presenting a new emergency cooling vest. © BIOPRO
A variety of natural materials were presented to encourage interactive development of project ideas. © BIOPRO

Website address: https://www.bio-pro.de/en/projects/Completed-projects/cluster-biopolymers