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Merkel opens CBP bioprocessing site
Fraunhofer Institute targets ‘regenerative raw materials’
German chancellor Angela Merkel has officially opened the Fraunhofer Institute’s new Fraunhofer Centre for chemical-biotechnological processes (CBP) in Leuna after two years of building. This centre aims to “transit biotechnological and chemical processes to industrial-scale production in order to assist companies in manufacturing basic chemical products from regenerative raw materials”.
The Fraunhofer CBP is part of the BioEconomy cluster in central Germany, which focuses mainly on producing chemicals, materials and energy from wood. At the start of 2012, the cluster won the third round of the Leading-Edge Cluster Competition held by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education & Research.
Linde Engineering Dresden was responsible for engineering the process units, infrastructure media and utilities, securing the commission to build five pilot-scale process unit for the CBP in December 2009 after an EU-wide tender. Its parent, gases and engineering giant Linde, will manufacture oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen at the Leuna site as demand grows.
“Regenerative raw materials can help reduce dependency on crude oil and cut CO2 emissions. However, many of these processes – which have the advantage of not conflicting with food and livestock supplies – have only been tested under lab conditions,” Linde said. “The new CBP and the BioEconomy cluster aim to bridge the gap between laboratory and industrial-scale production, paving the way for wider use of regenerative raw materials.”