Straubing gets biotech multi-purpose plant

21 Dec 2021

Straubing gets biotech multi-purpose plant

The construction of a new demonstration plant on the Straubing BioCampus is being supported by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs with 40 million euros.

Developing a product from laboratory scale to industrial production is often difficult because investors shy away from the risk - this also applies to biotechnology. The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs wants to facilitate this in the future and has therefore provided 40 million euros for the BioCampus in the port of Straubing-Sand. This money will be used to build the BioCampus MultiPilot facility, a multi-purpose demonstration facility for industrial biotechnology processes, by the end of 2024.

Once the facility is completed, companies and research institutions from all over the world will be able to rent the facility to scale up proven developments in the laboratory and test them on a pre-industrial scale. Processes are then optimized for this scale, their economic viability is tested and product samples are produced, for example building blocks for bio-based plastics, fuel components or specialty products for nutrition and agriculture.

Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, explained the choice of location: "Straubing, as a Bavarian model region for the bio-based economy, is the ideal location for this investment, because here agriculture and forestry, industry, science and, in the future, infrastructure will be synergistically linked. Biotechnologies also strengthen our domestic agriculture and forestry and offer opportunities to place value creation on a broader basis." He said the plant is an important component of the state's bioeconomy strategy to position itself for a strong bio-based economy.

"There are currently only a few comparable facilities worldwide, but they are in high demand," said a delighted Volker Sieber, rector of the TUM Straubing campus. The new facility will attract international attention, and will clearly put Bavaria and Straubing on the biotechnology map. The construction and planning services have already been put out to tender and are to be awarded at the beginning of 2022, so that the Zweckverband Hafen Straubing-Sand expects operations to begin at the end of 2024. Meanwhile, as part of the BioCampus master plan, an expansion of the technology and start-up center at the Straubing-Sand port is being built. This way, the strong bio-based research in the region is to be complemented by a suitable infrastructure for companies.