Our planet is changing at an unprecedented rate. The world's population is growing, and the consequences of climate change are being felt. We can only maintain a future worth living in if humanity, the animal world and the plant world live in a harmonious balance. That is why we at Festo consider the bioeconomy to be the economic system of the future. Our claim is to make a decisive contribution to improving the quality of life of present and future generations - by cultivating biomass on a large scale through our automation technology.
If we can manage to establish sustainable cycles, this will create innovation spaces from which both people and the environment can benefit equally. Circular economy means carbon-neutral production while using as few resources as possible. The idea behind this is energy-efficient cultivation of living matter as a biological basis for the extraction of raw materials to process them into products. They should ultimately be returned to the natural cycle.
At Festo, the learning company, we have looked to biology as a source of inspiration and a teacher for decades. Over the years, our bionic engineers have created and developed a wide range of technological innovations. The experience we have gained in this process, our automation technology and our know-how in control engineering make us an optimal partner for the cultivation of biomass on an industrial scale.
With the biotechnological system BionicHydrogenBattery, Festo is presenting a completely new, fully automated solution for the energy-efficient storage and low-risk transportation of one of the energy sources of the future: hydrogen. It is converted into formic acid with the help of bacteria - at mild temperatures and low pressure compared to previous processes.
The energy-efficient and low-risk storage of hydrogen offers great potential here. It allows us to produce and store hydrogen when enough sustainably generated energy is available – for example in the summer or in windy and sunny countries – and to recover it when it is needed for power generation.
One example of industrial biologization is our photobioreactor developed in 2022. With expertise, know-how and components from Festo, biomasses of different algae species can be cultivated in a closed cycle: highly efficient, resource-saving, automated. In their photosynthesis, the plant algae cells convert daylight and carbon dioxide from the ambient air into both chemical energy sources and valuable organic substances.
The resulting substances can then be used as starting materials for pharmaceuticals, packaging, food, fuels or cosmetics, and ultimately recycled in a climate-neutral process. This is because, unlike petroleum-based products, for example, they only release the carbon dioxide that has previously been extracted from the air and captured in the bioreactor.
With the BionicCellFactory, we are demonstrating a holistic bioprocess scaled to 80 liters – from the optimized cultivation of algae with permanent monitoring and analysis to harvesting and further processing and refining of various components – without high temperatures and pressures or toxins.
The BionicCellFactory as a model factory is the universal blueprint for holistic production systems of the future. Thanks to our automation technology, it can be scaled up to any size to meet future demand for renewable raw materials.
Bioprocesses are becoming increasingly important for industrial environments, as bioprocesses represent sustainable alternatives to conventional production processes and enable the manufacture of new products.
With BioTech Automation, Festo is presenting an overview of available components and solutions based on selected cultivation processes, which are demonstrated in two bioreactors: an algae reactor using the example of Chlorella vulgaris and a stainless steel reactor for the cultivation of microorganisms such as E. coli. A modular learning concept, a learning reactor, is also shown.
Indispensable companions of the biological transformation are digitalization, artificial intelligence and quantum sensor technology. With the help of these methods, data from bioreactors can be optimized within a very short time. Only when the automated cultivation of biomasses is reliable, cost-effective and of impeccable quality will their bioproduction become marketable on a large scale and be able to achieve the desired environmental effects. To this end, we conduct research in cooperation with other companies and institutes.
A major challenge in biotechnology is the exact measurement of biomass. It is important for optimal control of feeding and gassing of microorganisms. Festo is conducting research with partners from academia and industry on a low-cost computer to determine biomass in real time. Festo's solution is a soft sensor for estimating biomass. It uses existing measurement data such as temperature, pressure, pH value to provide important information on the status of the biomass in real time. From this, the experts can deduce, for example, when they should feed or harvest the microorganisms.
Festo is also part of the Biointelligence Competence Center. This alliance of the most important research institutions and some pioneering companies aims to shape the biological transformation towards sustainable ecosystems. We want to take this interdisciplinary approach from the Stuttgart region to the world.
However, highly qualified technical personnel and biotechnologists for a wide range of bioreactors are not available everywhere. Against this background, we will support plant operators on the one hand with remote diagnosis, maintenance and control as part of cloud solutions.
On the other hand, we are analyzing the new need for knowledge in order to define interdisciplinary links and establish innovative training professions, courses of study and additional qualifications in the fields of biomechatronics, biointelligence and sustainability. The paradigm shift affects future-oriented business fields and professional requirements in equal measure.
That is why we are already setting the course for the biological transformation of the economy toward an environmentally sound circular economy. Education is the only way to meet the global challenges of the 21st century. The challenges of the twenty-first century must be met responsibly.