In Italy, a bio-waste plant proves a regenerative bioeconomy is possible
Biobased goods will be an essential part of industrial decarbonisation. Yet there is growing awareness that even renewable feedstock can undermine environmental goals when sourcing is not carefully managed.
The bioeconomy in European security strategy
A new trading order is on the rise. Economic alliances are crystallising around military and geopolitical ones, redrawing old trade routes. In this new world, resource security is a major…
Chemicals from thin air: gas fermentation and the future of bio-manufacturing
Bacteria can metabolise sugars in milk or wheat into wondrous forms like sourdough bread, sauerkraut, beer and cheese. Modern industrial fermentation uses similar techniques: it cultivates biochemicals in the bodies…
Biodegradable and recyclable: the best of both worlds in sustainable packaging
Vast amounts of plastic packaging on the market today could be eliminated completely. However, in certain applications like food and medical equipment, the physical protection they afford is vital.
The rise of nature-sustaining bio-businesses in Southeast Asia and Brazil
"We have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be extirpated or at least committed to extinction by the…
Invasive fish and pythons find new uses in fashion and feed
The UN warns that invasive species could cost the world at least $423 billion each year as climate change worsens. Although some wild introductions are benign, many pose serious risks…
Brazil’s Amazonian bioeconomy offers hope for stemming deforestation
Brazil’s exports in iron ore, soybeans, oil, sugar, and meat have made it the tenth biggest economy in the world. Yet these industries are all land-hungry, meaning that Brazi’s growth…
Greener sun protection from plants, bacteria, and algae
Gadusol Labs, an Oregon State University spinoff founded in 2017, has pioneered a new kind of sunscreen inspired by the biological world. Their researchers took the Zebrafish as their model,…
Plant-based frames and lenses take on oil-based eyewear
Plant-based materials hold surprising versatility and one of their most surprising applications over the last decade has been in optical lenses and eyewear frames, where plastics currently dominate.
Circular tents reduce camping’s carbon footprint
Not many practices make us as sensitive to our environmental footprint as camping does. A few days without unlimited water and electric charging can show us how little we need…