Industrial biotechnology

A focus of BIO.NRW

Industrial biotechnology is a dynamically developing technology that arose from the historic industries of energy, steel and chemistry which are strongly represented in North Rhine-Westphalia. In order to promote industrial biotechnology on both a scientific and industrial level, the partner cluster of BIO.NRW, CLIB²⁰²¹ Cluster industrielle Biotechnologie 2021 e.V. was founded in March 2007 with the support of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Industrial biotechnology uses biological and biochemical methods for industrial production processes. Various processes are converted into technological applications (biological process engineering) with the assistance of microorganisms. Industrial biotechnology develops processes that, in comparison to classic chemical processes, are significantly more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Such processes therefore play a significant role in the reduction of CO₂ emissions by the chemical industry. Much methodological progress has been achieved in recent years such as bioconversion by biocatalysts (enzymes), the automation of processes using directed evolution, and the identification of new enzymes by means of meta-gene analysis that deals with the entirety of the genes (meta-genome) within a microbial environment. Since a majority of microorganisms, and bacteria in particular, have not been described or cannot be cultivated, this type of biodiversity offers enormous potential. Consequently, industrial biotechnology is held to possess significant growth potential and is considered a key technology in the development of new, sustainable and competitive products.