CLIB is constantly scouting the biotech and bioeconomy field for new technologies, new value chains, and new markets to complement the network and open new possibilities to cooperate and innovate for our members. Still, the CLIB core topics remain to be a hot pot for new insights as well.

On 17 November the CLIB team organised an online forum event on one of THE core topics of biotechnology – enzymes. Under the title “The Multitool of Biotechnology” more than 130 participants spent an afternoon listening to new technologies and discussing possible future innovations.

Michael Puls from evoxx technologies GmbH presented his work on the development of robust enzymes for industrial use. He described the process of identifying and developing new enzymes using evoxx’s metagenome-DNA libraries and enzyme improvement methodologies.

Jan Marienhagen, head of the Department Synthetic Cell Factories at the Forschungszentrum Jülich presented his work on not single enzymes, but metabolic pathways in Corynebacterium glutamicum. He gave examples for strategies how to design and construct cell factories, as well as novel techniques to speed up this process.

Anne Timm from INOFEA AG and Emil Byström from SpinChem AB concluded the round of speakers with their tandem presentation on their technique to use enzymes in large scale processes. They jointly offer shielded and immobilized enzymes to be used in rotating bed reactors able to catalyse reaction in large volumes using little amounts of enzymes.

The forum event closed with a short and intensive discussion on where the Multitool of Biotechnology is going to lead us in the future and lively networking with the participants afterwards.

We want to thank all contributors to the event again and look forward to welcoming you to our next CLIB forum event.