Automated cultivation of biomass
Algae are small climate savers. Even in their natural state they are extremely efficient photosynthesisers and absorb ten times more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than land plants. In bioreactors equipped with appropriate sensors, control technology and automation, the efficiency of algae can be increased to a hundred times that of land plants. This shows that they have a significant potential for a climate-neutral circular economy. With the PhotoBionicCell research project, Festo showed a first bioreactor at Hannover Messe 2022. This year, the company is presenting the next step on the road to industrialising the biological transformation.
Our world is changing to an unprecedented degree. World population is growing and the consequences of climate change are already being felt. We will have a liveable future only if people, animals and the plant world live in harmony. This is why at Festo we consider the bioeconomy the economic system of the future. “We need to integrate nature into automation technology. Only when technology and biology merge can we tackle climate change and make the circular economy a reality. By cultivating biomass on a large scale through our automation technology, Festo is making an important contribution to this,” explained Dr Nina Gaißert, Corporate Portfolio Projects and BioTech Automation during her keynote at the Hannover Messe Press Preview.
Biology as inspiration
That is why the bionics team is increasingly working on photosynthesis. At Hannover Messe 2022, Festo presented its first bioreactor with the PhotoBionicCell project. This year, the company is presenting the next step on the way to industrialising the biological transformation. Innovative bioreactors can be used to automatically cultivate algae and control their growth. The algae cells, through photosynthesis in their chloroplasts, convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and chemical energy carriers or organic recyclable materials. With automation technology from Festo, e.g. for optimal gassing and mixing, algae can absorb one hundred times more carbon dioxide than land plants such as trees or maize.
Biological recyclables for climate-neutral end products
As part of their metabolic processes, algae produce fatty acids, colour pigments and surfactants. These can be used as the raw materials for the production of medicines, food, plastics or cosmetics. Unlike petroleum-based products, the biobased end products can usually be biodegraded and, in keeping with an overall circular economy, always recycled in a climate-neutral manner. For example, the production of a shampoo container requires about one litre of petroleum. If the shampoo bottle is incinerated after use, it releases an additional three kilogrammes of CO2 and thus has a negative CO2 balance. If bio-plastic based on algae is used instead, three kilogrammes of CO2 are absorbed, which are released again when the bottle is disposed of. Thus, the cycle is in balance.
费斯托 (Festo)是一家全球性的独立的家族企业，总部位于德国埃斯林根。自成立以来，Festo在工业自动化技术和技术教育方面制定标准，从而为环境、经济和社会的可持续发展做出贡献。公司为超过35个行业的30万家工厂和过程自动化客户提供气动和电驱动自动化技术解决方案，其中生命科学和实验室自动化业务受到越来越多的关注。Festo产品和服务遍布176个国家。2021年，费斯托在全球61个国家的250多个分支机构拥有约20700名员工，实现销售额33.6亿欧元。每年约7%的销售额用于研发。在这家学习型企业，1.5%的销售额用于基础和进一步培训。Festo 教学培训 (Didactic SE) 是全球领先的技术教育和培训供应商，为全球客户提供工业环境中全面的数字化和常规学习解决方案。
