New DTU Centre to Strengthen Biosolutions as a Driver of the Green Economy
Biosolutions have the potential to become a key driver of Denmark’s and Europe’s future economy. DTU is therefore intensifying collaboration across its strong biosolutions environments and establishing a cross-disciplinary centre to accelerate the development of biological solutions for industry, society, and the green transition.
The new centre, Biosolutions DTU, serves as a point of entry for research and development within biosolutions across DTU. Dr Andreas Worberg, formerly Chief Commercial Officer at DTU Biosustain, is head of the centre. Foto: Ditte Valente
Monday 29 June 2026
Simon Koefoed Toft
Ulla Johanne Johansson
Denmark and Europe face a dual challenge: economic growth must continue, while increasingly relying on sustainable resources, resilient supply chains, and technologies that reduce dependence on fossil raw materials. Biosolutions can play a crucial role in addressing this challenge. Through biotechnology, enzymes, and microorganisms, researchers can develop new processes and products capable of replacing fossil- and chemical-based solutions.
With the establishment of Biosolutions DTU – Centre for Biosolutions, DTU is strengthening its efforts to make biosolutions a larger part of the green economy. The centre serves as an entry point to research and development within biosolutions across DTU’s departments, centres, and projects, making it easier for industry, public authorities, and foundations to collaborate with DTU. In addition, the centre will enhance the visibility of responsibly applied biotechnology in society.
“At DTU, we are committed to sustainable technological transformation. Biosolutions can deliver bio-based solutions that can be implemented in industry, making Europe more prosperous, more sustainable, and more resilient. It is therefore essential that we translate the considerable research potential into solutions that have real societal impact,” says Christine Nellemann, Provost at DTU.
Facts
Biosolutions DTU - Centre for Biosolutions
Biosolutions DTU serves as the entry point to the university’s combined research in biosolutions.
DTU works with biosolutions across areas including:
Food and alternative proteins
Industrial biotechnology and fermentation
Materials and enzymes
Agriculture and biological crop protection
Aquaculture and resource recirculation
CO₂ capture and biological conversion
The centre is aimed at companies, investors, public authorities, foundations, researchers, and other partners interested in developing or applying biosolutions. You will find the centre here: biosolutions.dtu.dk
What are biosolutions?
Biosolutions are products, processes, and services that use living organisms or their components (e.g., bacteria, fungi, enzymes, algae, plant cells, animal cells) to perform functions that are currently dominated by traditional chemistry and conventional manufacturing.
From Potential to a New Economic Reality
Biosolutions are based on biological resources and living systems such as bacteria, fungi, algae, yeast, and enzymes. These technologies can be used to develop sustainable products and processes that, among other things, can replace fossil-based materials, reduce CO₂ emissions, utilise side streams, and create new ways of producing food, materials, and energy.
For decades, DTU has been among the leading universities in biotechnology research. According to the Shanghai Ranking, DTU is the leading university in Europe within biotechnology. This position is particularly important at a time when biosolutions are expected to play an increasing role in Europe’s competitiveness, resource efficiency, and technological independence.
“Biosolutions are a central component in building a sustainable economy in Denmark and Europe. This is why we are now accelerating DTU’s efforts in this field. By strengthening collaboration across our research environments, we can realise the vast potential that biosolutions hold for society,” says Andreas Worberg, Head of Biosolutions DTU.
A Strong and Growing DTU Ecosystem
The new centre is being established at a time when DTU is significantly intensifying its focus on biosolutions. In 2026, the research initiative BRIGHT was launched with a grant of DKK 1 billion from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to strengthen the bioeconomy and green transition in Denmark and Europe. BRIGHT develops and scales new biotechnological solutions within sustainable materials, microbial foods, and microorganisms, with a mission-driven approach.
Biosolutions DTU will accelerate this development and highlight the breadth of DTU’s activities in biosolutions. Across the university, researchers are working on, among other areas, new microorganisms and enzymes, fermentation technologies, biological CO₂ conversion, utilisation of waste and side streams, new food ingredients, and biological alternatives to pesticides and antibiotics.
In practice, biosolutions can transform the way society produces goods.
Microorganisms can convert residual products into valuable ingredients. Enzymes can replace chemical-intensive processes. Fermentation can create new proteins and materials. Biological solutions can reduce the use of fossil resources and make production more circular.
These are precisely the types of technologies that Biosolutions DTU – Centre for Biosolutions aims to promote and help mature.
“For biosolutions to become a genuine engine of the green economy, they must be scalable and applicable in practice. DTU has the research, infrastructure, innovation pipeline, and technical expertise needed to bring biological solutions from the laboratory into society,” says Andreas Worberg.
