European Biosolutions Cases

The bio-revolution is well underway. The European biosolutions sector has a lot to offer the world, within everything from a healthy food production to sustainable clothing. We share with you a selection of just how great the impact of implementing biosolutions could be through these cases and our case catalogue - if we allow it.

Existing innovative biosolutions and the companies behind them can make Europe's bio-revolution happen. Over decades, we have been sowing the seeds for and shaping this revolution. Now, we need to create the best possible conditions for biosolutions companies to ensure that the coming bio-revolution will be European. We want the companies that were born in Europe to grow here instead of elsewhere.

But currently, we risk missing out on the opportunities of the bio-revolution because of regulations that have been designed with fossil-based solutions in mind. Products and solutions that are based on natural materials and processes which are not harmful are stalled as they wait for approval. At the same time, the European system for regulatory renewal is the slowest in the world. This situation risks driving companies and researchers out of Europe, and with them the chance for Europe to lead the bio-revolution.

The European biosolutions sector has a wide variety of benefits to offer the world. However, they remain held back by obstacles in their efforts to create new solutions based on time-tested techniques from nature’s own toolbox. We have the knowledge. We have the companies. We have the techniques and we have the solutions. Let’s make Europe’s bio-revolution happen. Here, you'll find a selection of innovative companies already pushing for change.

Case selection

21st.BIO

The Danish company 21st.BIO was founded to make industrial-scale precision fermentation technology accessible for bulk protein production. This enables biosolutions companies across the globe to successfully bring proteins to market faster and at a competitive cost, while removing significant risk from their ventures in precision fermentation. With a license to use Novonesis technology, 21st.BIO leverages its precision fermentation technology platform to develop highly productive microbial strains and optimal fermentation processes, plus offer production upscaling guidance to its customers. 21st.BIO is active across the nutrition, food, biomaterials, agriculture and even mining sectors.

Biosphere

Sustainability and innovation go hand in hand. The Italian company Biosphere can be that partner. Biosphere is a key player in the Italian industrial biotechnology sector and works as a technology platform, delivering deep tech along with research-based scaling facilities in which other companies can improve and test their products. Biosphere provides research and development along with scale-up services in the field of fermentation and industrial biotechnology, supporting customers and partners in the industrialization of their projects. Turning today’s chemical industry into a biobased one requires strong collaboration between scientists and the industry. Biosphere is a key facilitator in this collaboration.

Biotalys

The biobased crop protection product from Biotalys, a biofungicide named EVOCA™, is based on proteins - the core ingredient of nature. The proteins are produced through precision fermentation, a biological process that utilizes mainly sustainable and natural resources. It is a production method with great potential to become a sustainable alternative to conventional chemical pesticides. This is how the proteins work: They are mixed with water and then sprayed on the crop. Here they interfere with the cell wall of the fungus, which bursts, and the fungus dies off. The proteins themselves are fully biodegradable, turning into amino acids that could even be beneficial for soil life.

Koppert

The Dutch company Koppert has more than 55 years of experience in the production of natural enemies and microorganisms. Found in nature, Koppert’s products work as biological solutions for farmers and growers to protect their crops against pests and diseases. One example is Mycotal – a fungus that can attack and kill pests. Mycotal works as a bio-insecticide that prevents whiteflies and several other pests in vegetables, ornamentals, nursery trees, and soft fruit in protected cultivation. Bio-insecticides like Mycotal, which is already available on the market, originate from nature. They provide farmers and growers with tools to control pests and diseases in a sustainable and eco-friendly way.

Novonesis

Keeping food fresh for longer with fermentation. Fermentation is an ancient way to keep food fresh for longer. It is a natural way to reduce spoilage and contamination with “bad” bacteria. The Danish company Novonesis produces beneficial bacterial cultures (food cultures) that optimize the fermentation process. This way, it is possible to enhance the quality, freshness and shelf-life of the final product. The food cultures create an extra protective hurdle against “bad” bacteria in, e.g., meat and dairy products, as well as in ready-to-eat foods, during processing, transportation, and storage, and even after the product has been opened.

Those Vegan Cowboys

Animal free cheese made by a stainless steel cow. Free the cow from cheese production, and the environmental impact becomes practically zero – a major leap forward for the entire industry. To make this happen, the Belgian company Those Vegan Cowboys has built a stainless steel cow in their milk lab in Ghent, Belgium. You may call her Margaret, like that other Iron Lady who made European history. By using the age-old art of fermentation, Margaret serves the world real classic grass-fed cheese with the help of microbes. The process is called precision fermentation: a technology 50 years in the making.