German Manufacturing Goes Green / The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing

Berlin / Toronto (ots) - German industrial biotechnology is
driving the shift away from fossil fuels. Over EUR 1 billion went to
biotechnology R&D in Germany in 2010 and industry investments have
begun to bear fruit. The federal BioIndustrie 2021 initiative
provides over EUR 60 million to accelerate the commercialization of
biotech processes. Germany Trade & Invest has witnessed increased
investor interest in this nascent industry and will have
representatives at this year's World Congress on Industrial
Biotechnology & Bioprocessing in Toronto from May 8 - 11.

"Germany is at the forefront of biotechnology innovation and
implementation. With world-class businesses and very generous public
funding, companies here find optimal R&D and business conditions in
one of the world's top cleantech markets," states Dr. Thorsten Bug,
Senior Manager for Industrial Biotechnology at Germany Trade & Invest
in Berlin.

A key example of facilitating industry scale-up can be found in
Leuna, a chemical industry hotspot near Leipzig. Here the EUR 50
million Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes
(CBP) is under construction and slated to open next year. According
to experts, more than 20 companies and 15 research institutes and
universities have expressed an interest in the site, which closes the
gap between pilot plants and industrial implementation.

Both public initiatives and private companies are facilitating the
fundamental shift to biotechnology. German chemicals giant Lanxess,
for example, recently reaffirmed its commitment to biobased raw
materials by investing nearly EUR 12 million in US-based Gevo. The
renewable chemicals and biofuels company is developing a fermentation
process to make isobutanol from fermentable sugars in biomass,
starting with corn. This can later be used to produce isobutylene by
dehydration, which eliminates the dependency on crude oil in rubber
production.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment
promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization
advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities
in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to
German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

Contact:
Germany Trade & Invest
Andreas Bilfinger
Email: andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com
T: +49(0)30 200099-173
F: +49(0)30 200099-111