Stimuli for the industrial bioeconomy

Berlin, 10.09.2020 – An online conference hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research focused on the impact of the corona crisis on the bioeconomy. BIOCOM organised the industry event.

The corona pandemic has profoundly changed our lives and the economy – what does this entail for the change towards a bioeconomy? The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) held a digital conference on September 8th: The conference “Industrial Bioeconomy – Overcoming the Corona crisis with new impulses” aimed at exploring the challenges and opportunities that the crisis offers in terms of dialogue with industry players and the bioeconomy community. About 170 participants attended the online conference.

“The year 2020 is an important year for the bioeconomy, and the topic must not lose momentum despite the corona crisis,” said Andrea Noske, Head of Division at the BMBF and host of the online conference. The exchange with industry stakeholders and the research community is very important – and using an online conference as a platform is a first, she added. In his keynote presentation, the Berlin political scientist Peter Feindt highlighted the topic of resilience: How can a bioeconomy develop in times of Corona and sustainability crisis? Feindt is head of the Department of Agricultural and Food Policy at Humboldt University and coordinates several publicly funded projects on resilience research. In the subsequent panel discussion, five industry experts spoke about the Corona crisis, current trends in research and development and innovation strategies for the industrial bioeconomy.

On the day after the conference, two moderated workshops followed, in which participants discussed the available funding instruments in the bioeconomy and contributed their perspectives on existing and new funding topics. Finally, Andrea Noske announced further BMBF funding activities with relevance for actors in the industrial bioeconomy. In addition, the new Bioeconomy Council is expected to be nominated soon, to which the Federal Government attaches an important role in shaping the Bioeconomy Strategy.