The founders of Biophelion, Till Tiso and Lars Regestein, want to use biotechnological processes to achieve greater sustainability in this material-intensive industry, which has caused massive environmental problems in the past. Their plan is to use the yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans to convert carbon-containing mixtures of substances from industrial waste streams, such as those produced in large quantities in the food and agricultural industries, into new products. The fungus produces three key compounds from the waste materials: a polyester that might be used to make plastic for packaging, for example; the edible polymer pullulan, which is already used in food production and could be used as a material in 3D printing in the future, and a novel surfactant whose properties and potential commercial applications are currently being researched.
Biophelion is a joint spin-off of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) and RWTH Aachen University. The start-up was founded in the second of a maximum of three funding phases of the Circular Biomanufacturing Challenge competition organized by the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND. Close cooperation with Leibniz-HKI will continue in the future in order to further optimize the bioprocesses for manufacturing the new products. As the technology transfer partner of Leibniz-HKI, Ascenion has accompanied the project from the outset and supported the team during the spin-off.
Further information:
Leibniz-HKI press release
Biophelion website
