Biotech Start-up for Sustainability in Regensburg
The Regensburg Start-up ESy-Labs GmbH was founded in 2018 as an innovative derivation from the Johannes-Gutenberg University in Mainz and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology in Straubing. It has been located in Regensburg since the beginning of 2019, supported by BioPark Regensburg. The young company offers new, innovative technologies in the field of electrosynthesis in which the linking of integrated chemical catalysis with biotechnology makes ESy-Labs unique in the field. ESy-Labs now with a cooperation contract has completed an important milestone in the startup phase. Schwandorf Rohstoff- und Recyclinggesellschaft mbH (SRR GmbH), a subsidiary of the Schwandorf Waste Usage Association, is a shareholder in the company. “We are very pleased that with SRR GmbH we have a regional partner at our side which produces electricity and is concurrently a substrate provider for electrochemistry.” said ESy-Labs CEO Tobias Gärtner. The capital available through the cooperation will be used to build up operational structures for the first public projects. Electrosynthesis makes the direct integration of electricity in chemical syntheses possible. If these are derived from regenerative sources, environmentally protective contract syntheses and process development for fine chemicals will be possible.” Electrosynthesis is one of the technologies that in the coming years, the so-called ‘game-changers’, will have an essential influence on large chemical synthesis”, confirmed the CTO of Esy-Labs Prof. Dr. S.R. Waldvogel.
The business principle of ESy-Labs is based on two pillars; ESy-Organics with the synthesis of organic fine and special chemicals and ESy-Inorganics with the synthesis of inorganic chemicals. The cooperation contract which has now been sealed is intended to facilitate the recycling of combustion residues in the thermal treatment of rubbish. Thereby with the use of renewable energy, with electrochemical process technology in combination with biotechnological production processing, sulphuric acid that is not harmful to the environment will be manufactured for the first time. “The central aspect in this project is the linking of environmental protection, use of regenerative electricity, cost savings in rubbish removal and the contribution to the recycling industry, as we recover raw materials and concurrently reduce disposal of goods,” said Dr. Gärtner.
The ESy-Labs Team f.l.t.r. Mehmet Kilic, Jennifer Kain, Johannes Seidler, Dr. Tobias Gärtner; © ESy-Labs GmbH