Environmental and Industrial Biotechnologies

Industrial biotechnology is the convergence of numerous scientific and engineering disciplines to provide biocatalysts and bioprocesses for the production of a wide variety of goods. It offers a new sustainable approach to manufacturing of materials, chemicals and energy from renewable resources, enabling the so-called circular bio-economy. To this end, the European Union (EU) has recognised Industrial Biotechnology as a key enabling technology (KET) for its economic sustainability.

Natural biological resources are crucial for our economic system, but they are increasingly overexploited for the provision of food, materials and energy. Therefore, industrial biotechnology is intrinsically linked to environmental biotechnology, which aims to prevent, arrest and reverse environmental degradation through the appropriate use of biotechnology in symbiosis with other technologies.

research challenges

• Bio-based production of high-value chemicals and enzymes from plant cells and microbes.
• Valorisation of end-of-use plant biomass and other waste streams from agri-food supply chains as a source for bioenergy, biopolymers and chemical building blocks for innovative and commercially interesting applications.
• Development of new technologies for environmental monitoring, with emphasis on biomonitoring systems to improve the assessment of water quality.

Key partners 

• PM International (LU)
• Université Catholique de Louvain (BE)
• Biogas Vereenegung a.s.b.l. (LU)
• Biogas plants across the Greater Region, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy
• Université de Lorraine - ENSAIA - Nancy (FR)
• University of Luxembourg - LCSB (LU)
• Université de Liège (BE)