Saxon researchers are developing biotechnological cell factories that operate without arable land or fossil fuels. Using microalgae, Chemnitz University of Technology, Leipzig University, and Fraunhofer FEP are producing the basic chemical glycolate from CO₂ and sunlight—a key building block for medicines, preservatives, and polymers.

The search for sustainable alternatives to energy production from agricultural crops is a key concern in the context of the European climate goals of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. In Germany, maize has so far dominated as an energy crop, but its cultivation poses ecological challenges: soil erosion, nutrient leaching, and, in particular, groundwater contamination with nitrates are known problems. Therefore, research must identify suitable alternative crops that minimize the ecological problems while achieving the same or similar biomass production and energy generation. A comparative study by the University of Bayreuth shows that perennial silphium is a more sustainable alternative to the energy crop silage maize .

Given the planned phase-out of lignite mining by 2030, the Rhineland region is facing significant structural change: around 15,000 jobs are expected to be lost. A team led by Prof. Tessa Flatten and Prof. Steffen Strese from the Institute for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE) in the Faculty of Business and Economics at TU Dortmund University has therefore been investigating regional start-ups in the bioeconomy sector and their role in structural change since 2022. As part of the federally funded research project, the TU scientists have now published the third "Bioeconomy Start-up Pulse," which, for the first time, provides a chronological overview of the sector's activities, challenges, and success factors.