Renewable raw materials from the Region, and for the Region

Although their cultivation stagnates, the use of renewable raw materials of both, plants, and residual materials (FNR, 2021), is on the increase. The use of land for the cultivation of these crops, however, is always in competition with its use for food production. At the same time there is a continuous decrease in arable land due to new human settlements. The question therefore arises how the cultivation of renewable raw materials in Germany should be further developed in a meaningful way in the future, also in terms of area. There are several solutions to this problem. There are several solutions to this problem. One solution would be the cultivation of effective low-input plants, which, at best, could even be cultivated on marginal sites or, for example, on brownfield sites. This is stipulated accordingly in Germany's current bioeconomy strategy. In an additional step, measures are being taken in the scope of the Renewable Carbon Strategy under the leadership of nova-Institute, together with numerous large companies and/or groups (www.renewable-carbon.eu). The cultivation of these plants is to be considered in this context, which means that interdisciplinary research along the entire value-added chain is needed. This should also generate new insights and new ideas regarding renewable raw materials. To take forward the numerous ideas on the optimization of crops, and for higher quality exploitation of renewable raw materials more quickly, the Chair of Renewable raw materials is going its own way. This includes the,bio innovation park Rheinland e.V." (www.bio-innovation.net), jointly set up by the higher education institutions of the region, companies, and the local authorities of Meckenheim and Rheinbach, together with the regional authority of the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis. Such a network for bioeconomy and green technologies aims at much faster and, above all, regional implementation of research results in agricultural practice and in companies. The establishment of such networks for the implementation of a regional bioeconomy should be increasingly pursued.