Biotechnology

Innovation is crucial to fulfil the potential of industrial biotechnology for sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, materials, food and feed. Similarly, scientific and technological advances in environmental biotechnology are needed to enable novel approaches to water purification, and ‘waste-to-product’ processes thus contributing to a circular economy. Increased fundamental knowledge encompassing enzymes, microorganisms and processes are essential for progress in this field. The Department of Biotechnology covers this research area and, based on new insights, selects, designs and tests new biobased catalysts, micro-organisms, and processes.

The department encompasses five research sections:

News

07 April 2016

Two ERC Advanced Grants for TU Delft researchers

Two TU Delft researchers have been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant. Yuli Nazarov and Jack Pronk will both receive this European grant, which is only awarded to five-year projects conducted by internationally established research leaders. Higher-dimensional topological solids realized with multi-terminal superconducting junctions Prof. Yuli Nazarov of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience (Applied Sciences) will receive an ERC Advanced Grant of €1.5 million for his research proposal on HITSUPERJU (Higher-dimensional topological solids realized with multi-terminal superconducting junctions). His project focuses on topological materials: materials that exhibit the properties of conductors and insulators simultaneously in certain states. Topological materials were only discovered relatively recently, and they have since become a hot topic in the world of solid-state physics. These exotic materials are fundamentally interesting and also hold promise for concrete applications (such as a quantum computer based on Majorana fermions). However, they are very difficult to prepare and control. Yet some properties of topological materials can be closely simulated using a multi-terminal superconducting junction. Nazarov will put together a team of theorists to investigate this and formulate concrete suggestions for experiments and applications. Eliminating Oxygen Requirements in Yeasts Prof. Jack Pronk of the Department of Biotechnology (Applied Sciences) will receive an ERC Advanced Grant of €2.5 million to conduct research on the oxygen requirements of yeasts and fungi. The project, entitled ELOXY (Eliminating Oxygen Requirements in Yeasts), aims to shed light on the as yet unanswered question of why many yeasts and fungi need molecular oxygen. Even when these micro- organisms can obtain plenty of energy from anaerobic fermentation processes, they still need small amounts of oxygen - and nobody knows why. This conundrum is not only of scientific interest, but is also relevant for large-scale application of yeasts and fungi in anaerobic industrial processes.

News

05 July 2018

Delft Advanced Biorenewables attracts capital and commercial director for scale-up phase

Serial entrepreneur Jan Willem Klerkx participates and joins start-up Delft Advanced Biorenewables (DAB), that developed a unique technology to produce biochemicals and biofuels in a cheaper and more efficient way. Klerkx becomes shareholder and joins the management. Details about the investment are not published. DAB , a spin-off of TU Delft, has gone through an extensive development trajectory in the last four years and is now in the phase of scaling up, in which Klerkx will play an important role. Using his knowledge and experience, the serial entrepreneur regularly joins technology start-ups to strengthen them in the field of management and sales. Previously, he invested in the start-up Scyfer (artificial intelligence), which was taken over by Qualcomm last year. With DAB, Klerkx now focuses on sustainable energy. "I had the idea for a while to spend my time and energy on supporting the circular economy. What DAB does - reducing the production costs of biofuels and biochemicals - is an important contribution to this. The technology and scientific team of DAB are world-class. I look forward to making the company stronger commercially with my experience." DAB Corporate Movie from DelftAB on Vimeo . Director of DAB, Kirsten Steinbusch, is pleased with the arrival of Klerkx. "Jan Willem has proven to be able to make a difference in knowledge based start-ups. We can use his commercial skills and strategy to enable DAB to grow further." TU Delft also has an interest in DAB through ‘ Delft Enterprises ’. Director Paul Althuis: "TU Delft is committed to work on a sustainable future. That is why it is important that our scientists’ groundbreaking research also reaches the market. That is why we invest in promising technological innovations, such as those of DAB." DAB was founded in 2012 with the conviction that in the near future there will be an increasing demand for advanced fuels and chemicals that are produced from biomass. To make biobased an attractive alternative, the production process should become cost effective and scalable. DAB has developed a unique separation and reactor technology to convert organic material into biofuels and biological chemicals in a single process step, resulting in both lower costs and simplified production. DAB works closely with TU Delft and the Bioprocess Pilot Facility (BPF) to scale up the technology. The joint research project is subsidized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, national regulations for Ministry of Economic Affairs subsidies and the ‘Top Sector Energie’ carried out by the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO). For more information, please contact Kirsten Steinbusch - Managing Director DAB