The biotech boost – when, if not now?

The European Biotechnology Network is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels that was founded in 2008 and now has around 2,000 members from every country in Europe. Among them smaller countries such as Iceland, Moldavia or Luxembourg. Larger countries like Germany and Britain count hundreds of members. For years, the network – which is staffed solely by volunteers – was mainly dedicated to grouping international research consortia. But in the past two years the organisation has been rather quiet. That is now set to change.

Three new projects it’s launching are aimed at addressing gaps in the industry and, above all, sharpening the focus on the economic role biotechnology plays. They include a biotech label for B2C products, a pan-European online job market for biotechnology and life sciences, and a biotechnological climate protection project with CO2 compensation opportunities.

“The urgent need to reinvent the global economy calls for completely new, sustainable, technological solutions. It’s unacceptable that biotechnology, which is closely tied to natural cycles, has completely lost sight of that,” says Andreas Mietzsch, the Network’s acting Managing Director, who is an old hand in the scene and also the publisher of European Biotechnology. He finds it hard to believe that biotech, which has been celebrated as an upcoming technology for decades, is nowadays largely ignored by politicians, industry and society as an area that is able to offer important, desperately needed alternatives for the future. Some products that are ready for market, Mietzsch says, simply don’t get the support they deserve.

New biotech branding

A classic example of the shadowy role biotechnology plays in daily life is a ubiquitous product – laundry detergent. For decades, biotechnologically produced enzymes have ensured laundry comes out of the machine clean even when washed at low temperatures. Amylases in them break down starch, lipases break down fats, proteases break down proteins and cellulases break down cellulose to reduce the roughness of cotton textiles. Compared to the pre-biotech world, when laundry had to be washed at much higher temperatures, this saves a huge amount of energy, and is much more environmentally friendly in terms of wastewater as well. The problem is that even today, not a single manufacturer dares to print ‘Biotech inside!’ on its label. After the long-standing debate about genetic engineering in agriculture, the term remains one with associations that are less than positive for the European public.

The European Biotechnology Network now wants to change that, and has developed a biotech label that manufacturers can proudly print or stick on their products. The subtitles “Nature based” and “Bioscience for life” are intended to signal to consumers at a glance what this means. In addition, there is an individual subline that informs potential buyers about the particular benefits or advantages of this product compared to conventional competing products that may be on the shelf next to it.

To be allowed to use the label, manufacturers will have to meet stringent conditions. Consumers shouldn’t be deterred by ‘greenwashing’ – the misuse that is often associated with eco or sustainability certificates. Above all, the label must:

1. Showcase the main characteristics of the product
2. Communicate a positive message, and
3. Not celebrate intermediate stages, but real solutions.
 
The technology must be unambiguous, which means it is:

1. Knowledge-based
2. Has a molecular basis/technology
3. Purposive biological process

These goals are defined and may be complemented by others, such as a product’s:

1. New characteristics
2. Positive impact on sustainability, bio­diversity, health or social conditions
3. Compostability or biodegradability under normal conditions

Partial solutions, in particular, are excluded from the label. A plastic bottle made with 25% bioplastic may have a slightly improved ecological balance due to the renewable raw materials used in its manufacture, but because it remains a plastic bottle that could potentially persist as waste in an ocean for centuries, it will not be approved to carry the label.

Pure substitution solutions with a view to sustainability, such as a bicycle made of wood or bamboo, will also be barred, because they lack a biotechnological aspect. A good candidate for the label, on the other hand, would for example be an environmentally friendly rust remover based on bacterial siderophores, which would be innovative and far superior to toxic chemical competitors. The Network’s new biotech
label is intended to identify exactly these kinds of genuine high-tech products.

Each individual product candidate for the label will be closely evaluated by a top-notch group of experts at the European Biotechnology Network. How much work they will have will depend largely on the innovative abilities and commitment of the companies pursuing new ideas. According to Mietzsch, there are not yet that many real biotech products available to European consumers. “It’s always the same shortcoming. We’re strong in research, but have a problem transferring our results into market success,” he says. “But without tangible products in hand, politicians and financiers will also find it difficult to enlist biotechnology to solve the major problems of our era.”

An effective biotech job market

There are many online job markets, but those that target specific groups in certain industries can hold their own even against the biggest platforms. The new job market eurobiotechjobs.net is based on a strategic, pan-European idea. Over 500 million people live in the EU, making it the second largest economic area on the planet. While full employment can be found in some core countries, unemployment in others remains far too high, especially among young people, even if they are highly qualified. Meanwhile, in full-employment countries, a lack of well-trained employees can pose one of the biggest obstacles to growth.
“The current perception of migration and refugees completely overshadows the fact that the mobility of young, well-trained people is one of the absolute advantages of a common economic area,” explains Hans-Christian Stolzenberg, member of the Executive Board of the European Biotechnology Network. “At least in the field of life sciences, we want to provide fast and comprehensive information to help bring employers and job-seekers together across national and linguistic borders.” This also includes neighbouring countries outside the European Union’s borders. Highly qualified applicants will discover that while it might be a little more difficult to get a job in the EU than for people from member states, it’s far from impossible.
The initiators of the new job exchange are of course aware that its success will depend not only on the quality of candidate that appears on it, but also its critical mass. The Network is therefore cooper-
ating with other job portals to bundle as many ads as possible from Europe on the new platform. In the beginning, the tools available will be simple and straightforward, with more service functions added bit by bit. Even the longest journey begins with a first step.

The Climate Protection Project

The new Biospheria Project of the European Biotechnology Network was inspired by Laura Griestop and the airline Lufthansa. “Laura is our sustainability expert in the network. Her constant reminders to review our own behaviour laid the groundwork for our climate protection initiative,” says Mietzsch. This was triggered by Lufthansa, which this year launched its own CO₂ compensation scheme (Compensaid) for passengers. It allows environmentally conscious customers to pay a surcharge that finances the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). A few years ago, Lufthansa was one of the first pioneering companies to get on board with SAF when it tested the use of bio­technologically-produced algae kerosene in regular service and found it to work without any problems (see European Biotechnology 4/2015). But what does the airline fuel its jets with today? SAF derived from used cooking oil …

This was the final impetus for the Bio­spheria idea – a CO₂ compensation programme that puts donated money into the development of sustainable and CO2-saving biotechnologies such as algae carbon capture. Growing algae biomass fixes carbon in fat molecules. This algae oil can be converted into stable carbon fibres – thus permanently fixing CO₂. Carbon fibres are a sought-after building material that can be used, for example, as non-corrosive armouring for concrete. And at the end of its technical lifetime, the carbon can easily be deposited in former coal mines, returning CO₂ set free by burned fossil fuels to the ground. The basic research has been completed. Now all that is lacking is the money to set up industrial production in the promising country of Spain.

For the Network team, the Biospheria project highlighted a major issue – that it’s quite difficult to find biotechnological approaches to the CO₂ problem that are worthy of funding. Griestop recommends an interim solution. “Until we get things up and running, we’re planting and cultivating trees – here and now in Europe, where we’re familiar with the area,” she says. “CO₂ compensation is reviled by some as a new form of medieval indulgence trading. Our response to that is – so what? It’s still better than doing nothing!”

The new strategy

With its three new projects, the European Biotechnology Network – which by the way is one of European Biotechnology’s partner organisations – wants to help put biotech back in the spotlight as a solution to the major environmental problems of our time. And as a non-profit organisation, it may find it easier to accomplish that goal than commercial providers. It remains to be seen whether and to what extent the bio­tech industry will take up the offers. While biopharmaceuticals have been accepted and successful for decades, the area of industrial bio-technology continues to face powerful opponents in the form of ‘Goliath’ companies that refuse to use sustainable alternatives to fossil resources. Not every entrepreneur or manager is a born ‘David’, and there are plenty of small, fine, B2B niches out there. That said, however, biotechnologists have been promising an industrial revolution for decades, and the climate clock is ticking. At five until midnight, the question begs asking: “When, if not now?”

Bernardo Glavo

first published in European Biotechnology Winter Edition 2019