Soft-, Hard- and Bio-ware – the building blocks for a reorientation of industrial value creation

(Source: Fraunhofer IPA, Graphic: stapelberg&fritz)

Just before Easter, on March 30, 2021, the Fraunhofer IPA's Biointelligence Blog went online. In cooperation with scientists from Fraunhofer IGB, the Universities of Stuttgart and Hohenheim, as well as the NMI (Natural Science and Medical Institute) in Reutlingen, the blog provides weekly contributions from the field of Biological Transformation. These include bionics, bioeconomy, and especially biointelligence.

»The digital transformation of production, which is already well advanced under the banner of Industry 4.0, is not sufficient to address the essential challenges of society. Simultaneously with the Digital Transformation, a new revolution is emerging with Biological Transformation. It is at least of equal, if not greater, importance than Industry 4.0«, forecasts Prof. Thomas Bauernhansl, head of Fraunhofer IPA. Nearly all industrial and societal sectors will be massively influenced by the establishment of biointelligent value creation. Of course, the success of Biological Transformation depends on discourse in politics and society.

In the newly launched blog biointelligenz.de, bloggers provide brief and personal insights into research with application examples, highlighting the enormous opportunities arising from the interplay of technical and biological processes and systems. With the Biointelligence Competence Center in Stuttgart and the new blog, all participants aim to broaden and deepen the topic. The blog is aimed at industry representatives, especially SMEs, policymakers, scientists, and of course the interested public.

New contributions weekly

The bloggers are convinced that biointelligent value creation has the potential to provide an answer to one of the most serious challenges of the 21st century – namely, balancing prosperity and resource consumption. As more materials and principles from living nature are increasingly used in technology, sustainability is integrated from the outset. This new research field involves the systematic application of knowledge about nature and natural processes in technology: in factories, operating rooms, cities, kitchens…

The time is long overdue. »Decision-makers at political, economic, and scientific levels must now be brave, act quickly, and explore the full potential of biointelligence«, encourages Bauernhansl. »When the competencies, fundamentals, and applications of biology, technology, and computer science are linked, biological transformation opens up a completely new space for innovation.«

These are the first planned blog posts from Fraunhofer IPA:

- Biological Transformation: Tackling Global Problems and Preserving Livelihoods
- Compost on Power – Biodegradable Batteries for Compostable Products
- Mass Production vs. Unique Items. The Path to the Right Active Orthosis

Following the initial posts from Fraunhofer IPA, the neighboring Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB will soon contribute articles on the use of CO2 as a raw material and enzyme engineering with the help of robots. A research focus of Fraunhofer IGB is biointelligent solutions for the transition to a sustainable economy – the bioeconomy. Institute Director Dr. Markus Wolperdinger also represents this topic as spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Strategic Research Field Bioeconomy and is a Fraunhofer representative and deputy chairman of the German Federal Bioeconomy Council, as well as co-chair of the "Sustainable Bioeconomy" advisory board of Baden-Württemberg.