Creating a Sustainable Future by Fusing Biology with Technology

Presentation by Dr. Nina Gaissert, Corporate Portfolio Projects at Festo SE & Co. KG as part of Altair's Future.Industry 2024 conference.

The world economy is currently based on cheap fossil resources for producing all kinds of products from packaging, to clothes, to drugs. Since using fossil resources changes the CO2 concentration of the world’s atmosphere and thus changing the climate, human kind has to replace fossil resources by regrowing resources while still feeding billions of people. This is possible if we fuse biology with technology. Microalgae, as well as other microorganisms have a huge potential here. In order to meet future demands in quantity, reliability, and quality bioprocess capacity has to be upscaled and expertise in process automation is required to ensure that the plants can run over long periods of time and thus in a cost-efficient way. With the BionicCellFactory we demonstrate how intelligent control cabinets together with newest sensors, software, and automation technology guarantee optimal growth conditions to provide a basis for a new and sustainable world.