RMI: decarbonize fast and profitably
For decades, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) spread the message ‘that the energy transition will happen faster and be less costly than many people think’; in the words of CEO … Read more
Transport as a Service
Modesty is not one of the obvious virtues of the RethinkX authors. The subtitle of their report Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030 (May 2017) reads: ‘the disruption of transportation and the collapse … Read more
Cooperation in living nature
Under the skin we are still Darwinists. Meaning that all living creatures are in a state of competition with each other. The strong drive out the weak, that’s how progress … Read more
Interlocked banks, natural constructions
Floating islands as the lungs of a lake. Made from mycelium, sawdust and turfs made from reed. And island strong enough to carry a person and yet flexible enough to … Read more
Green roofs
The Earth heats up; and in this process, towns are among the areas most hit. Buildings and streets tend to store incoming radiation. Towns urgently need to be turned greener, … Read more
Carbon Take Back Obligation: make sure fossil fuels producers take responsibility for cleaning up CO2
This summer, the world has been shocked by disasters, probably caused by climate change. When will the global community take upon it in earnest the task of reducing greenhouse gas … Read more
Sustainable materials policy? Try bans and taxes
Lux Research, an international research policy company based in Boston, published a report on sustainable materials policy. What are the most effective policy instruments in this area? Sustainab-ility is growing … Read more
Ecomimicry: enriching urban landscapes
Why are the ‘green’ areas in our cities often so uniform? Why are they ‘blandscaped’, to create virtually uniform green spaces that are devoid of local character or distinctiveness? Just … Read more
Towards net zero carbon emissions
In an unprecedented move, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its NZE2050 scenario this month: towards net zero carbon emissions in 2050. Required for a climate strategy that limits the … Read more
Good prospects for alternative leathers
Conventional leather is an attractively priced and sought-after consumer good. But leather production has important negative environmental and social consequences. Animals often live in harsh conditions; the sector uses much … Read more
A transition that makes use of existing energy infrastructure
We need to move through the energy transition fast. Because continuous carbon dioxide emissions will result in unacceptable climate changes. That’s why we need transition paths that meet with little … Read more
CO2 utilization, a growth sector
In a report released last month, Lux Research looked into CO2 utilization. The company forecasts a growth in this sector to $ 70 billion by 2030 and to $ 550 … Read more
Wooden windows
Wooden windows? Wood, not for the frame but for the transparent part, instead of glass? Yes, modern research has shown that we can make transparent wood with a relatively benign … Read more
Chemicals and materials industry needs to innovate
‘The chemicals and materials industry is going to see more dramatic change over the next 20 years than it has in at least the last 50,’ says Anthony Schiavo, Senior … Read more
Closing the plastic loop
Plastic recycling has become a hot topic. The seriousness of plastic pollution has forced itself upon us. Industry, indeed the world, needs to close the plastic loop. But we don’t … Read more
Plastic recycling: urgent, but a major problem
Suddenly, articles on plastic recycling pop up everywhere. Spurred on the one hand by continued growth in plastics production; and on the other hand by the ever growing problem of … Read more
Mass timber, the new technology
A revolution has taken place in the construction industry: the development of mass timber, the technical term for industrial timber. It allows for the construction of innovative buildings. Mass timber … Read more
Timber, the old and new construction material
The world is rediscovering timber. Thanks to new technologies that open up new constructive techniques; and to a better appreciation of sustainability. MaterialDistrict, a Dutch foundation, has published Tomorrow’s timber, … Read more
Plant biostimulation, a new chapter in agriculture
Plant biostimulation is a new approach to agriculture. So far, substances that assisted the farmer were fertilizers and plant protection products, each with a well-known chemical composition. Biostimulants on the … Read more
Review: biostimulants for sustainable crop production
This book is what a review should be all about: lengthy (365 pg), thorough, several tables and hundreds of references. Overall, this is a complete book on a highly relevant … Read more
Energy autarky more difficult than expected
The Dutch Wadden islands aimed to attain energy autarky in 2020. They fail to reach that target. For in order to do this, energy production and consumption don’t just need … Read more
EASAC: burning biomass often doesn’t reduce CO2 emissions
The European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) urges the European Commission to base its carbon accounting on science and the real effects on climate. The present accounting rules favour energy … Read more
Battery technology in fast development
Much excitement in the universe of battery technology. Battery storage is rapidly growing world-wide, important for the energy transition. Batteries are improving and their costs are falling, all the time. … Read more
Food loss and waste to be reduced by better management and new technologies
Food loss and waste currently causes an estimated $1 trillion in economic losses globally each year, according to Lux Research, a Boston-based tech and advisory company. This constitutes not just … Read more
Methane pyrolysis turns a grey resource into a green one
Bio is in. Chemistry is out. Green is in. Grey is out. And the Netherlands (my home country) should rid itself from its dependence on natural gas. These are popular … Read more
Sustainable biomass: a subject fraught with conflict
Sustainable biomass is a subject dominated by strong and enduring disagreement. Michael Moore’s latest film Planet of the Humans is a recent reminder of that. In the Netherlands, always looking … Read more
Corona pandemic and energy transition
Will the corona pandemic speed up the energy transition? The question is much debated. Those who would like to accelerate the transition seem to have the upper hand, if we … Read more
Manifesto ‘Waltzing with Nature’
Biobased Press published its manifesto ‘Waltzing with Nature’ on May 1, 2020. In this manifesto, we testify to the importance of science for solving mankind’s major global problems. Like … Read more
Directed evolution: a Nobel prize winning innovation
Frances Arnold won the 2018 chemistry Nobel prize for her research on directed evolution. Directed evolution speeds up nature’s variation and selection process, and researchers use it to find the … Read more
Sustainability is crucial for success, says Lux Research
Reductions in resource use, emissions, and waste production are key strategies for corporate success. Sustainability is crucial, says Lux Research, a Boston-based technology development and advisory company. Sustainability is crucial … Read more
Sustainable farming: a few development pathways
Recently, Knowable Magazine devoted an article to the question how far conventional agriculture is on the way to becoming more sustainable. The problem is: conventional agriculture pollutes too much (fertilizer … Read more
Mycelium as a construction material
Quietly, industry is perfecting the art of using mycelium as a construction material. Mycelium is the invisible part of mushrooms: their ‘roots’ that consist of minuscule threads called hyphae. There … Read more
Seafood from the lab – will consumers like it?
Whereas the artificial hamburger has been launched with a lot of fuss a few years ago, artificial seafood has been developed in relative quiet. But it may come to the … Read more
Biobased aromatics: Europe leads the way
Last month, Chemical and Engineering News devoted an article to biobased aromatics: aromatic compounds derived from biobased resources. Much is going on here. This developing sector holds the promise that … Read more
Insects: now it’s the time to cherish our little friends
The decline of insects has been well established now. It concerns both their abundance and their diversity, and spans all continents. If they decline even more, we will run into … Read more
Could reforestation stop climate change?
A publication in Science last year triggered a debate: can we stop climate change by planting billions of trees? These trees would capture CO2 and in so doing, save the … Read more
Global warming: businessmen and central bankers come to the rescue
Figures on global 2019 climate have come in and global warming does not seem to slow down. Many new records were set, like that on ocean water temperatures. That 2019 … Read more
Nature as our teacher!
Reading the book Naturally! Of course. How nature always keeps surprising us (in Dutch) by Alle Bruggink and Diederik van der Hoeven was a great pleasure to me. Even stronger, … Read more
Carbon storage in the soil
The Conversation, that invaluable source of balanced information, ran an article on carbon storage in the soil. Potentially, one of our main instruments for controlling the rise of CO2 concentrations … Read more
CRISPR to the rescue as bacteria develop antibiotics resistance
Antibiotics resistance of harmful organisms becomes a major problem – in agriculture, in human and veterinary medicine. Scientists now try to come up with new methods. They think that CRISPR … Read more
Resolve-project develops bio-based alternatives for hazardous solvents
During a workshop at the latest European Forum on Industrial Biotechnology (EFIB) in Brussels, the BBI JU funded ReSolve-project introduced a number of newly developed, less hazardous, viable bio-based renewable … Read more
Energy from biomass is sustainable, as a nest egg
Once upon a time, energy from biomass like wood, manure, whale oil and other sources was the primary supplier of heat, light and food processing. If we should like to … Read more
We will never be able to control nature perfectly
When researchers discovered the CRISPR-Cas mechanism, it was looked upon as the perfect instrument for genetic modification (GM). But it appears to have its flaws. Flaws that might be inherent … Read more
Naturally! Of course. How nature never stops surprising us
When talking of technology, many people nowadays have ICT in mind. But then they neglect the major steps forward taken by the life sciences: all chemical and biological knowledge of … Read more
Don’t just reduce emissions, create a circular economy as well
Last month, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation completed a series of reports on climate change with a strong message. Don’t just reduce emissions; restructure the economy as well, from a once-through … Read more
High hopes for holism
Reductionism, reducing issues to little fragments, is at the basis of our present wealth. It also has a major influence on our social behaviour and our worldview. This may take … Read more
Reductionism and holism in the life sciences
Science rests on reductionism: the reduction of complex issues to digestible bits. From there, researchers try to piece together the bigger picture. But in the life sciences we now see … Read more
Processed banana leaves, an eco-friendly packaging solution
In Asia, banana leaves were always used for food packaging. But they quickly deteriorate. They have been overtaken by plastics, that now often clog the waterways and pollute the oceans. … Read more
Pesticide resistance, a growing problem
Pesticide resistance is a brand new phenomenon, historically speaking. It was first reported in 1914, just a century ago. A result of chemical, and later biotechnological methods of pest control. … Read more
Sustainable fish farms
Fish farming is increasingly important. More than half of the fish consumed by mankind is farmed fish already, and its share is on the rise. Without fish farming, we would … Read more