BioEconomyCouncil

The Bioeconomy Research and Technology Council (BioEconomyCouncil) advises the Government on measures to promote the Bioeconomy in Germany. The Council makes policy recommendations to policy makers, science and industry in the corresponding fields of research and action. The members of the Council are respected senior figures drawn from across the fields of science.

In developing its reports and recommendations, the Council works independently on its own authority. It is administratively associated with acatech. The Council is financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The BMBF links the Council to the Federal Government and the respective Ministries. The first project phase is scheduled to last three years. The Council is supported by a secretariat located in Berlin.

Tasks

The Council’s task is to advise the Government on strategic fields of action to improve the framework for innovation and new technologies, to promote the development and diffusion of innovative technologies, as well as to identify prospective needs for research.

The BioEconomyCouncil produces expert reports including recommendations for action. Reports are handed over to policy makers during public events. Such events serve to promote the exchange between science and industry.

The Council moreover issues expert opinions on current topics in response to requests from policy makers, science, and industry. Reports and recommendations are published and made available to the public online and in print.

The Council meets regularly. It draws on additional expertise by commissioning studies and reports as well as by hosting hearings and workshops.

Members

Reinhard F. Hüttl (Chair), Chair of the Executive Board, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam and President of acatech

Bernd Müller-Röber (Deputy Chairman), Professor of Molecular Biology, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology and University of Potsdam

Andreas J. Büchting (Deputy Chairman), Chairman of the Supervisory Board KWS SAAT AG

Achim Bachem, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH

Helmut Born Secretary-General of the German Farmers’ Union (Deutscher Bauernverband e.V.)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) and Institute for Interfacial Engineering at the University of Stuttgart

Andreas Kreimeyer Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE

Manfred Schwerin, Professor of Animal Breeding, University of Rostock and Director, Research Institute for the Biology of Farm Animals

Carsten Thoroe, Retired president of the Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI) Braunschweig

Wiltrud Treffenfeldt, Director Bioprocess R&D, Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, USA

Fritz Vahrenholt, Chief Executive Officer, RWE Innogy GmbH

Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, USA

Alexander Zehnder, Director, Water Research Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Christian Patermann (permanent guest) NRW Government Advisor on Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy

Claus Gerhard Bannick, Head of Office

External links

• Bioeconomy Research and Technology Council (Bioeconomycouncil)
• acatech – German Academy of Science and Engineering
• Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection
• Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
• European Commission Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS)

de:Forschungs- und Technologierat Bioökonomie