Bioeconomy Conference 2025 in Anklam: Review and highlights

The 7th Bioeconomy Conference in Anklam was held under the motto “German-Polish Bioeconomy North-East.” The conference, sponsored by the federal states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as Polish partners, brought together stakeholders from science, business, and politics who are dedicated to the bioeconomy.

The Bioeconomy Conference not only offered the opportunity to establish international contacts and learn about the latest trends and technologies in the fields of bioeconomy and circular economy, but also to work together to shape a sustainable future.

The conference in Anklam was organized by WITENO GmbH (MERGE project team), Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, the IHK Neubrandenburg, the University of Greifswald, and the Informations- und Beratungsnetzwerk (IBN).

Under the motto “Overcoming boundaries – shaping the bioeconomy: successful strategies and opportunities for companies,” the first day of the 7th Bioeconomy Conference took place in Anklam on November 6, 2025. Ralf Pfoth, Deputy Managing Director of the Neubrandenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Eastern Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, warmly welcomed all guests.

Afterwards, Dr. Sylvia Rahm-Präger, Chairwoman of the MV Agricultural Committee, Michael Galander, Mayor of Anklam, and Paweł Szeremet ((Marschallamt der Woiwodschaft Westpommern) provided insights from both sides of the border on the bioeconomy from different perspectives.

Among other things, Dr. Rahm-Präger addressed the promotion of renewable raw materials—especially paludiculture—through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) via the second pillar (agricultural, climate, and environmental measures). It was emphasized that these measures are important for the environment, but must also generate income for farmers.

She emphasized: “We can only do this if something is grown there that can then be purchased, processed, and is in demand. We need the second pillar of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which supports agricultural climate and environmental measures as well as rural development. Otherwise, we will no longer be able to convince farmers to grow these raw materials at all.”

She also drew attention to the logistical challenge. Transporting wet grass (raw material) is not economically viable. Drying on the cultivation areas cannot be guaranteed, as the breeding seasons in the protected areas must be taken into account.

Dr. Rahm-Präger advocated creating drying facilities, as there is sufficient energy available in the country thanks to windmills. Preserving the raw materials at the pre-processing stage would be an important goal.

Crossing borders, connecting innovations, and shaping the future are the goals of the MERGE – Pomerania BioBridge project, which Alexander Schwock from WITENO GmbH in Greifswald presented to the German-Polish audience. What exactly is it about?

The German-Polish innovation project, which is funded by the Interreg VI A Mecklenburg-Vorpommern / Brandenburg / Polska cooperation program and will run until mid-2028, focuses on the sustainable use of residual materials as one of the sub-areas of the bioeconomy and on promoting the circular economy. Schwock emphasized that the aim is to “strengthen our region as a business and science location.” The main concern is to make better economic use of existing research resources. “Our goal for the project is to improve cooperation with companies, the federal government, and research institutions—across borders. There is a lot of potential on both sides,” explained Schwock.

Project partners are:

• Witeno GmbH
• Uniwersytet Szczecinski
• Steinbeis-Forschungszentrum Technologie-Management Nordost
• Zachodniopomorski Uniwersytet Technologiczny w Szczecinie
• Institut für Lebensmittel- und Umweltforschung e.V. (ILU)
• Politechnika Koszalińska
• Hochschule Neubrandenburg

Planned activities during the project period:

• Establishment of several multilateral contact points: These help to find the right contact (institutions or expert por example) in cases such as problems or a lack of in-house analysis within the company.
• Cross-project cooperation: Cooperation with numerous other projects in the field of bioeconomy.
• Study on motivation for F&E activities
• Training programs for companies
• Communication and information
• German-Polish hackathons
• idea competition BioEcoVenture
• Pomerania F&E Connect
• Bioeconomy conferences
• Summer school

A survey was created to determine the needs of German and Polish stakeholders. Click here to go directly to: Survey on the bioeconomy

To the MERGE project

After the coffee break and international networking, we moved on to the second part of the day’s program at the Bioeconomy Conference in Anklam.

Katharina Mieglich presented not only Witeno GmbH, but also Z4 – Zentrum für Life Science und Plasmatechnologie. It is part of the Technology Center in Greifswald and is structurally affiliated with the Biotechnikum (BTG).

The center has a rental area of 5,500 square meters spread over five floors. More than 50 laboratories, including shared laboratories that can be used immediately, are available for rent. They are equipped with modern facilities and security level two. Production halls for bio and plasma as well as 200 square meter conference rooms are also available. The center is ideal for companies that need infrastructure in the region.

Witeno GmbH also offers BioBoosters-Hackathons as a service for the bioeconomy sector. These idea competitions for companies and startups not only drive innovation forward, but also enable it to be implemented. How does it work?

The hackathon process runs for three months from the start of the “challenge” – the challenge set by a company. The first phase up to the initial meeting, the kick-off, takes place entirely online. It is only on the hackathon days that a face-to-face meeting takes place at the challenge organizer’s premises and the idea generation phase begins. The various teams then compete to develop the best solution idea for the challenge set. The end goal is to establish a joint cooperation with the challenge issuer that ensures the long-term implementation of the idea.

Currently, there are three main topics at the BioBoosters hackathons:

• Utilization of biological by-products
• Optimization of the sustainable use of bio-resources through digitalization and smart technologies
• Transition to bio-based industries

Sugar beet, the main product of Cosun Beet Company GmbH & Co. KG in Anklam, is proving to be an extremely versatile raw material. It not only provides sugar, but also water – an essential resource for future energy processes such as hydrogen production.

Approximately eight kilograms of water and green electricity are needed to produce one kilogram of hydrogen. The water that enters the process via the beets is therefore already a valuable element in the value chain. Hydrogen can only be at the end of this chain, explained Matthias Sauer, director of the company.

The entire business model is based on close cooperation with the agricultural sector. The Cosun Beet Company focuses its activities on providing independent farms in the region with a competitive and, above all, sustainable raw material: sugar beet. In addition to processing sugar beet into white sugar, the Anklam-based company produces ethanol and operates a biomethane plant, thus recycling sugar beet residues as press pulp. Part of this is fed into the gas grid. The focus is therefore on a long-term and economically viable value chain.

One result of the continued use of beets as a raw material is the product Fidesse — made from the structural substances of sugar beets—as an ingredient for meat and meat alternatives, as well as for hybrid products. The goal: less CO₂ and, at the same time, a more CO₂-friendly diet.

What else can be done with sugar beets? Recommendation: https://www.brightbeetbook.de/

The Polish company Bio2Materials converts agricultural and industrial by-products into high-quality, sustainable materials. Prof. Artur Bartkowiak asked the audience: “Would you like to sit on a couch made of chocolate and walnuts?” He was introducing NUTICO – a sustainable alternative to leather that is completely biodegradable, unlike synthetic leather (often PU or PVC), and is made from cocoa and walnut shells.

The main components of the NUTICO biomaterial come from regional partners. For example, cocoa shells are sourced from Szczecin, which is a renowned center for chocolate production. Ground walnut shells are imported from Ukraine. After seven years of intensive research and development, the natural leather was officially launched on the market in 2025. Bio2Materials can currently produce rolls 70 and 140 centimeters wide. The leather has been tested for use in shoes, clothing, accessories, and furniture. These tests are also being extended to interior design, including special flame-retardant materials.

Participants at the Bioeconomy Conference in Anklam were able to get an impression of the quality, different textures, and colors from the samples brought along.

Sandra Marquardt von der Koordinierungsstelle am ILU