How can we remove CO2from the atmosphere and actively contribute to climate protection in the process? How can we reduce our material consumption, recycle more materials and at the same time develop alternative raw materials? At Festo, we have been addressing these issues for some time and are breaking new ground: we are transferring our automation technology know-how to biological processes.
Living cells are the smallest factories in the world. The algae cells convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and chemical energy carriers or organic recyclable materials by means of photosynthesis in their chloroplasts. Algae are small climate savers, as they bind ten times more CO2than land plants do. This value can be increased by a factor of ten through automated cultivation in bioreactors.
With our automation technology, biomass can be cultivated in a closed cycle in a highly efficient, resource-saving manner and on a large scale. The biomass obtained can be used in the chemical, food or pharmaceutical industries. Thus, we present the BionicCellFactory as a tool for the biological transformation towards an environmentally sound circular economy.
The BionicCellFactory is divided into five modules in which nature and technology merge in different ways. Unlike chemical processes, we do not need high temperatures, high pressures and toxins.