BOOST FUND 2.0 Projekt ValorCO2: Gas fermentation with recombinant Cupriavidus necator for carbon-negative products
Description
A thriving bioeconomy is essential for achieving a carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative society. However, the current production processes of industrial biotechnology rely on glucose from starch and sucrose, which poses challenges in terms of land use and competition with the food industry. This is particularly true for creating fine chemicals, low-cost bulk chemicals, or biofuels. ValorCO2 aims to address these challenges by directly utilizing CO2 instead of relying on biomass. The Knallgasbacterium Cupriavidus necator is of interest due to its lithoautotrophic metabolism, coupling CO2 fixation with H2 oxidation, allowing for CO2-neutral chemical production. The project will focus on using protein and metabolic engineering to valorize CO2 into valuable biopolymers (polylactide) and fine chemicals (oxyfunctionalized cyclic amines). The project will also tackle challenges related to molecular biology tools, process conditions of gas fermentation, and optimal metabolic fluxes in C. necator. The economic competitiveness of gas fermentation with C. necator will be evaluated through socio-economic assessment. The expected outcome of ValorCO2 is a general workflow for the design of recombinant C. necator strains and gas fermentation process engineering, along with a defined roadmap for industrial implementation of the technology.
Project Duration
01.01.2024 - 31.12.2026
Project Funding
Eco-T-REX ist Teil des NRW-Strategieprojekts BioSC und wird vom Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen gefördert.
Profect Partners
Dr. Marco Girhard, Prof. Dr. Vlada B. Urlacher, Biochemie II, HHU Düsseldorf
Katharina Miebach, Prof. Dr. Jørgen Magnus, AVT – Bioverfahrenstechnik, RWTH Aachen
Dr. Sascha Stark, Prof. Dr. Sandra Venghaus, Dr. Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs, ICE-2, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Dr. Tobias Alter, Riccardo Clerici, Prof. Dr. Lars Blank, iAMB – Angewandte Mikrobiologie, RWTH Aachen
Dr. Paul R. F. Cordero, Prof. Dr. Lars Lauterbach, iAMB – Synthetische Mikrobiologie, RWTH Aachen
Contact
- Institute of Climate and Energy Systems (ICE)
- Juelich Systems Analysis (ICE-2)
Room 3003
Project Website
https://www.biosc.de/ValorCO2