The bioeconomy
Oil and gas are still the most important raw materials for the chemical industry, but the weighting is set to change in the longer term. Plants that supply valuable raw materials and micro-organisms that produce innovative substances are becoming more important — for the industry and for Evonik.
In view of the rapid growth in the world’s population, climate change and the increasing depletion of resources, the bioeconomy is expected to help secure the supply of high-quality food for people, and renewable raw materials for energy generation and industrial and medical applications. The bioeconomy encompasses the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value added products such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy.
Evonik regards biotechnology is one of its central technology platforms. It supports the increased focus on sustainable development as part of our growth strategy.
The site in Halle-Künsebeck in Germany, which belongs to Evonik’s Health & Nutrition Business Unit, is one of the centers of Evonik's biotechnology research. Employees at this site develop and optimize production processes for, among other substances, the amino acids Biolys® (L-lysine), ThreAMINO® (L-threonine) and TrypAMINO® (L-tryptophan). They also conduct research into biotechnological production processes for other Business units in the Evonik Group, for example, for polymers and active ingredients for cosmetics.