{"id":177860,"date":"2026-06-26T07:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T05:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=177860"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:34:34","slug":"bacterial-factories-a-key-to-climate-friendly-chemistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/bacterial-factories-a-key-to-climate-friendly-chemistry\/","title":{"rendered":"Bacterial factories: A key to climate-friendly chemistry\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"Pioneer
Pioneer Fellow Ronja Rappold with her \u201cbacterial factories\u201d.\u00a0(Michel B\u00fcchel \/ ETH Z\u00fcrich)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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\"Ronja
Ronja Rappold and her team members Philipp Keller (left) and Michael Reiter (centre).\u00a0(Image: Lukas Bigler)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Whether medicines, clothing or food: around 96 percent of the products we use on a daily basis depend on the chemical industry. At the same time, the sector is responsible for around six percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change. \u201cThe problem is huge, but often invisible,\u201d says Rappold. This is precisely where her Teno Bioworks project comes in. \u201cWe consume the end products, but we don\u2019t see the fossil-based raw materials used to manufacture them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with her colleagues Philipp Keller and Michael Reiter, the biotechnologist is developing a technology that tackles the problem at its source: rather than treating CO\u2082 as a waste product, they view it as a resource. The team combines cutting-edge biology with a process as old as bread-making: namely bacterial fermentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategic route using methanol\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using CO\u2082 as a raw material in chemical production is a major challenge: as a gas, CO\u2082 is volatile and therefore difficult to control. This is where the team\u2019s key technological innovation comes in: \u201cgreen methanol\u201d as an intermediate step. First, the gaseous CO\u2082 is converted into liquid methanol. This then serves as the bacteria\u2019s starting material \u2013 effectively their \u201cfeedstock\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMethanol is an excellent industrial raw material,\u201d explains Rappold. \u201cUnlike CO\u2082, it is not only a liquid but can also be easily stored, transported and precisely dosed\u201d, says Rappold<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A breakthrough following decades of research\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The vision of using methanol through microbial processes has been around for quite some time. Since the 1970s, researchers have been trying \u2013 with limited success \u2013 to harness naturally occurring \u201cmethanol-utilising\u201d microorganisms in industrial applications. After years of research in the laboratory run by Julia Vorholt, Professor of Microbiology at ETH Zurich, Rappold\u2019s team has now developed a revolutionary solution by turning the conventional approach on its head: they optimised a bacterium already used on a large industrial scale to feed on methanol instead of sugar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe fundamentally reprogrammed the bacterium\u2019s metabolism\u201d, says Rappold<\/strong>. The result is a bacterial factory capable of utilising methanol and enabling climate-neutral resource use in industrial chemistry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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\"\"
The Teno Bioworks technology converts CO\u2082 into high-value chemicals.\u00a0\u00a0(Graphic: Michael Reiter \/ Teno Bioworks)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

From laboratory to market\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The potential is enormous: Teno Bioworks is not developing a single solution but a platform technology. Depending on how the microorganisms are programmed, they can produce a range of products, including building blocks for cosmetics, insulation materials and sustainable plastics. As Chief Operating Officer, Rappold is responsible for steering the strategic direction of the planned ETH spin-off. In close collaboration with industry partners and potential customers worldwide, she is assessing where the technology could have the greatest impact. \u201cThe chemical industry is under enormous price pressure. For this reason, our solutions must be economically competitive,\u201d she emphasises. Sustainability should not be a luxury but the new standard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur technology kills two birds with one stone,\u201d she<\/strong> says. \u201cWe make chemical production independent of fossil raw materials while protecting biodiversity as well as land and water resources.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Bridging the gap between laboratory and industry\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This broader perspective has evolved over many years. It was shaped by early impressions, including the colossal bucket-wheel excavators in the Rhineland when she was a child and the vast oil fields in Texas during her student years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe scale of habitat destruction shocked me,\u201d she<\/strong> recalls. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With Teno Bioworks, she aims to show that industrial production and environmental protection need not be mutually exclusive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Die
Optimising \u201cbacterial factories\u201d in the ETH laboratory paves the way for converting greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals on an industrial scale.\u00a0(Image: Michel B\u00fcchel \/ ETH Zurich)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The future ETH spin-off remains at an early stage. The process is currently being tested in the laboratory, and initial scaling steps have been successfully implemented. The next milestone is scaling up to a pilot facility and, ultimately, to an industrial plant. This development will take several years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Ronja Rappold<\/strong>, the path is clear:\u00a0\u201cWe now have the means to decouple industrial production from environmental impact and fossil imports. The next step is to apply them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Pioneer Fellowship Program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Pioneer Fellowship is a comprehensive support programme that provides innovative thinkers with the ideal conditions to launch their entrepreneurial ventures. The programme is primarily aimed at doctoral students but is also open to Master\u2019s students and postdocs. Pioneer Fellows receive a grant of 180,000 Swiss francs over 12 to 18 months, along with comprehensive mentoring and training. Pioneer Fellowships are jointly funded by the ETH Foundation and ETH Zurich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether medicines, clothing or food: around 96 percent of the products we use on a daily basis depend on the chemical industry. At the same time, the sector is responsible for around six percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change. \u201cThe problem is huge, but often invisible,\u201d says Rappold. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":177855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":" The chemical industry is involved in virtually every product we use in daily life. However, it is also responsible for a significant share of global CO\u2082 emissions. ETH researcher Ronja Rappold wants to change that. As an ETH Pioneer Fellow, she is developing microorganisms that convert CO\u2082 into useful chemicals as part of her planned ETH spin-off Teno Bioworks","footnotes":""},"categories":[17143],"tags":[28042,10416,16171,10453],"supplier":[277,28040],"class_list":["post-177860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recycling","tag-bacterialrecycling","tag-circulareconomy","tag-fermentation","tag-recycling","supplier-eidgenoessische-technische-hochschule-zuerich-eth-zuerich","supplier-teno-bioworks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177863,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177860\/revisions\/177863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177860"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=177860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}