Environmental Biotechnology Group
Contact
Environmental Biotechnology Group
Prof. Dr. Ir. Largus (Lars) T. Angenent
Schnarrenbergstraße 94-96,
5 th floor, 72076 Tübingen
Administration:
Artur Zimmermann
Phone.: +49-(0)7071-29-75069
The Environmental Biotechnology Group is located in the Geo and Environmental Research Center (GUZ) at the University of Tuebingen.
We investigate the use of natural microbes in engineered systems to make conversions such as the treatment of wasted organic materials and industrial off-gases into useful products.
The Group consists of the Angenent Lab, Molitor Lab, and Baur Lab. We combine bioprocess/environmental engineering with microbiology including metagenomics/proteomics, and systems biology/metabolic engineering.
Lars Angenent was filmed and interviewed for a tv program on renewable technologies (Plan B) on ZDF.
Lars Angenent was awarded the Leibniz Prize for 2023
Angenent Lab
We want to make our societies more sustainable by developing innovative biotechnology-production platforms in the lab that can be translated into the real world. With this development and translation of technology, we aspire to make an impact on reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere or by combining carbon capture and utilization into useful products. In our research group and spin-off start-up companies, microbes that originated from our environment are put to work in bioreactors to make biological conversions. Through gas fermentation, it is even possible to use CO2 and/or carbon monoxide (CO) as a carbon course by feeding in gases as the only substrate.
Environmental Biotechnology is closely aligned with finding technological solutions to our biggest societal problems that have to do with the rapid deterioration of our environment. However, we do not lose sight of non-technological issues such as policy making, social issues, sustainable assessments, and economic viability.
Molitor Lab
The Molitor Lab is at the cross-discipline intersection of microbiology and biotechnology. Our mission is to use microbiological, genetic engineering, and systems biology tools to put microbes to work in biotechnological applications, and to unravel interactions within microbial communities on a molecular level.
We combine various techniques in our laboratories to address these research questions, which is only possible because we are a diverse group of people with a background in microbiology, biochemistry, systems biology, and biological engineering. Furthermore, we strongly believe in research as a collaborative effort and that we can unfold our full potential through collaborations in Tübingen, Germany, and abroad.
Baur Lab
The Baur Lab is interested in utilizing waste gases such as carbon dioxide, working toward sustainability and a circular bioeconomy. Bacteria can use waste gases to produce value-added compounds such as chemicals or bio-degradable plastics. Bacteria can be genetically modified to produce these compounds and to improve the (carbon) flux toward the desired products. We combine techniques, from medium and fermentation optimization to genetic engineering, to increase product formation and evaluate the success using a wide range of analytical methods.