Current and previous recipients

This project focuses on developing high-performance, durable, and sustainable bio-composite sandwich panels for modular housing applications, including roofs, facades, and walls. The panels feature outer skins made of natural fabric (e.g., flax, hemp) reinforced with 100% bio-resin composites and an inner core composed of agricultural biomass (e.g., corncob, hemp shiv). By utilising low-cost bio-based materials, the project aims to meet stringent thermal, mechanical, fire, and environmental durability standards. It promotes circularity by repurposing agricultural waste, reducing carbon emissions, and advancing market acceptance of bio-based construction materials. The initiative benefits both the environment and economy, supporting sustainable housing solutions for Australian and German consumers. Funding: $250,000.

This project seeks to transform waste gases generated from biological sludge during wastewater treatment into high-quality proteins suitable for livestock, aquaculture, and human consumption. By converting sludge into synthesis gas (syngas) or biogas, the initiative addresses challenges in carbon emissions and waste management. The innovative platform captures and reassembles carbon emissions into valuable feed products, reducing reliance on imported feed ingredients and supporting local production. This circular bioeconomy approach enhances sustainability, mitigates environmental impact, and provides economic benefits. The project combines interdisciplinary expertise to advance bioprocessing technologies and create renewable outputs, contributing to food security and environmental conservation.

Bio-based product and process: Development or advancement in converting renewable biological resources, technologies, co-products or wastes into value added products, including but not limited to bio-inspired materials, chemicals, products, and services.

Advancing knowledge and tools: Projects are sought that develop and advance the biotechnological knowledge and tools that underpin a growing bioeconomy.

The BioOlé project aims to develop a sustainable microbial platform for producing functionalised fatty acids from sugar industry by-products as eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum and palm oil. Using the host strain Pseudomonas taiwanensis VLB120, the project focuses on producing ω-amino and ω-carboxy fatty acids with industrial applications in polyamides, cosmetics, surfactants, and lubricants. By leveraging low-cost carbon sources like molasses, BioOlé offers an economically viable and environmentally sustainable solution for chemical industries. The collaboration combines expertise in fatty acid metabolism engineering and bioprocess engineering to establish efficient production methods, benefiting Queensland’s agro-industrial sector and Germany’s chemical industries.

The KILLFUNGI project addresses global food security challenges by developing novel antifungal natural products to combat fungal crop pathogens and fungicide resistance. Using hordedane diterpenoids and their derivatives, the project aims to enhance crop protection and agricultural productivity. It integrates metabolic engineering, diterpenoid biochemistry, and agrichemical pesticide development to create a pipeline for discovering and testing new natural fungicides. These innovative solutions will reduce crop losses, improve food quality, and support sustainable agricultural practices. The collaboration between Queensland University of Technology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, and BASF ensures expertise in production and application, contributing to resilient and efficient agrifood systems.

Agriculture and Agri-Food: Development or advancement in using biological resources, technologies, and innovations to help transform agrifood systems so they are more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

Bio-based product and process: Development or advancement in converting renewable biological resources, technologies, co-products or wastes into value added products, including but not limited to bio-inspired materials, chemicals, products, and services.

Advancing knowledge and tools: Projects are sought that develop and advance the biotechnological knowledge and tools that underpin a growing bioeconomy.

This project brings together researchers and industrial partners in Queensland and Germany to advance novel technologies and enhance resource efficiency by using agricultural and industrial wastes and their by-products to develop novel, sustainable and zero-carbon emission cement – a replacement for the high carbon intensity Ordinary Portland Cement. This new material is crucial to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the field burning of biomass wastes, which is more than 17 Mt/annum in Queensland, and cement production, helping both Queensland and Germany move towards a sustainable bio-economy.

This project aims to enhance knowledge exchange and complementary expertise between Queensland and Germany, fostering innovation and advancements to deliver transformational change for Queensland agriculture and manufacturing and the German automotive and outdoor industries by providing readily available, bio-based alternatives to fossil-based materials produced and manufactured for export in Queensland. These sustainable materials can effectively replace traditional automotive and outdoor components, without compromising quality or safety, while significantly reducing the industries ecological footprint. Additionally, the research collaboration drives economic growth and job creation in both Queensland and Germany and will educate the next generation of bioeconomy leaders. By developing technologies that enable Bio-PUR production, this project supports local manufacturing sectors and creates opportunities for the rapid and sustainable adoption of bio-based materials in the automotive and outdoor equipment industries. This project will be supported by an advisory committee of industry leaders from the target sectors.

This project aims to convert lignin, a highly abundant biopolymer, into valuable chemical commodities. With multidisciplinary expertise in biomass depolymerisation, microbial biotechnology (Queensland), and synthetic biology and enzyme engineering (Germany), the consortium is ideally positioned to unlock the untapped potential of lignin, offering a sustainable pathway for valuable chemical production, particularly 1,3-butadiene from biomass, benefitting both Queensland's agricultural and Germany's chemical industries. To facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange, the project will involve the exchange of students and staff between the participating research groups, allowing for the sharing of complementary expertise.

The project aim is to establish an interdisciplinary platform that makes agricultural production more sustainable via the production of novel agri-chemicals. This will be achieved by combining biotechnological production of known natural agri-chemicals and the detection of new active ingredients in plants native to Queensland. Within the project, and in collaboration with several industry partners, studies will be performed on all levels of the platform. This includes compound extraction and screening, synthetic biology for the production of specific bioactives from biogenic residues (e.g. bagasse and forestry residues) and efficacy analyses of compounds. The project will lay the foundation for a long-term cooperation between partners from Queensland and Germany that will boost sustainable agriculture in both regions of the world.

Sustainable agriculture: Development or advancement of processes for the increased and sustainable production of agricultural products, this may include precision, smart and digital agriculture where there are clearly identifiable bioeconomy outcomes.

Food (Waste): Innovations to support sustainable and resilient food systems focused on reducing or reusing wastes, to enhance, and improve circularity.