2nd DiP Status Seminar: 7 to 8 October 2025, Halle (Saale)
The Central German dryland poses growing challenges for agriculture, among other things due to extreme spring dry phases and heavy rainfall in summer. At the same time, agriculture with its products and residues provides the basis for the bioeconomy – a central future field in the midst of structural change due to the coal phase-out in Saxony-Anhalt. That is why the region needs innovative solutions that are well received in practice. This is exactly where the DiP project comes in, which has brought together 120 participants from science, politics and business for the second DiP status seminar in Halle over the past two days.
Day 1 of the DiP Status Seminar | October 7th, 2025
Value chains of special crops and a keynote speech by the Farmers’ Association of Saxony-Anhalt
The focus of the first day was on the value chains of special crops – an area in which Saxony-Anhalt can build on decades of tradition and expertise. The eight projects from Lighthouse 3 impressively demonstrated how digital methods from spatial transcriptomics to AI-supported biocatalysis to the sustainable use of fruit residues open up new perspectives for the region. It became particularly clear that digitization is not an end in itself, but specifically helps to use valuable plant-based raw materials more efficiently and to open up new, sometimes high-priced markets.
Keynote: Sven Borchert, 1st Vice President of the Farmers’ Association of Saxony-Anhalt, Betriebsgemeinschaft GbR Groß Germersleben
In his keynote speech, Sven Borchert from the Saxony-Anhalt Farmers’ Association emphasised the central role of practical transfer and promoted practice networks that accelerate learning curves. His message was clear: the research must reach farmers, and new crops can be part of the solution if they are flanked by improved cultivation methods and effective crop protection. The DiP Advisory Board has just been constituted with top-class representatives from business, science and society in order to strengthen precisely this connection between innovation and regional roots.
The bioeconomy opens up a wide range of opportunities for Saxony-Anhalt across many key industries, especially if regional quality and origin labelling are linked to the awareness that future fields are emerging here. The exchange at the get-together in the Weinberg Campus Innovation Hub showed: DiP is developing from a research association into a real transformation network for the region.
Day 1 of the 2nd DiP Status Seminar was rounded off with five parallel workshops, in which the project partners jointly worked out transfer opportunities and developed dialogue formats, advanced the research of BegleitDiP and discussed the exchange of research data. New and particularly well received: A practical workshop on bioinformatics.
In the evening, there was plenty of room for deepening the discussions and further cooperation initiations.
Day 2 of the DiP Status Seminar | October 8th, 2025
Climate-resilient cultivation systems and regional value creation as a response to structural change
The second day of the DiP status seminar focused on the most pressing challenges facing regional agriculture: How can cropping systems become more climate-resilient? And how can agricultural crops be refined into high-quality bio-based products that create regional added value?
The four projects from Leuchtturm 2 showed possible solutions: With the opening of its FoodLab on the Heidecampus and the emergence of new concrete cooperations with an oil mill and other producer groups in the structural change area, the DiP-SuSaKlim project was able to take a decisive step towards closing the value chains. The DiP-FaiReSyst field edge project goes beyond cartographic recording and systematically formulates the agronomic advantages of field margins for adjacent arable land – at the same time, the legally permissible economic use of these often fallow areas is developed and thus their enhancement is promoted. Agroforestry systems show potential not only for climate resilience, but also as a source of raw materials for the decarbonization of the chemical industry (project DiP-SMART Agroforestry). In particular, the DiP-iQ-Hemp project demonstrated how digitization can revolutionize quality assurance along the entire industrial hemp value chain.
Leuchtturm 1 focused on the digitization of classic and new crops. The spectrum ranged from formaldehyde-free binders made from lignin to AI-supported breeding informatics and the systematic development of the pea as a regional protein source. Projects such as ZAZIkI show how artificial intelligence enables sustainable cultivation systems for sugar beet, while DiP-LeFOS extracts high-quality fructo-oligosaccharides from residues from sugar beet processing.
Economic structure in transition: The IHK perspective
(Danny Bieräugel, IHK Halle-Dessau)
Danny Bieräugel from the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce drew an impressive picture of the structural change region of Saxony-Anhalt South. The chemical industry is the backbone of the region with a turnover of over 15 billion euros, complemented by a dynamic biotechnology industry that has grown from one to 19 companies. The charts clearly showed that while the production of chemical and pharmaceutical raw materials is declining, the production of other – i.e. highly specialized – products in these areas is increasing. There are opportunities here.
A decisive locational advantage: 97% of the population consider industry to be important for the region – an acceptance that is unparalleled nationwide. At the same time, Bieräugel made it clear that the region is facing massive challenges: With a share of 38% of the total number of employees in the state (Germany: 28%), energy costs are hitting the region particularly hard. The shortage of skilled workers is exacerbated by demographic development – Saxony-Anhalt is the oldest federal state with an average age of 48.3 years. His message: The bioeconomy must use these existing industrial strengths and at the same time contribute to solving the pressing problems.
Streiflicht BioZ – bio-based innovations from Zeitz and Central Germany
(Dr. Christina Peters, Pi Innovation Culture GmbH)
Dr. Christina Peters from the WIR! alliance BioZ underlined the complementary role of both alliances for the Central German innovation ecosystem. BioZ has expanded from 8 to 21 districts since 2022 and brings together over 90 partners from industry (61), research (23) and networks (13). With a total of 15 million euros in funding until 2028, BioZ is pursuing a consistently transfer-oriented approach: The goal is the industrial implementation of more than 30 projects by 2035.
Peters presented concrete examples of success that show how research can be turned into added value. In addition, feasibility studies can also be funded in addition to project initiations within the framework of BioZ. The new call for feasibility studies will start at the beginning of 2026, and up to 100,000 euros in funding is possible.
In addition, BioZ is establishing four dialogue groups on green chemicals, plant-based foods, green materials and – new – water cycles, which develop targeted project pipelines and systematically involve companies in research. Peters’ conclusion: “We need both alliances – DiP for the digital transformation of plant value chains, BioZ for the broad industrial implementation of the bioeconomy. Together, we are creating an innovation ecosystem that actively shapes structural change.”
Conclusion: From research to regional transformation
Two successful days of exchange lie behind us. The second DiP status seminar impressively demonstrated the diversity of the approaches with which the DiP network contributes to the bioeconomic transformation of the region. From climate-adapted crops to the digitalisation of classic fruit varieties and the development of new value chains, concrete solutions are emerging to meet the challenges of structural change. The close networking with regional players from business, politics and administration ensures that these innovations do not remain in the laboratory, but find their way into practice.
We would like to express our thanks to all contributors and our guests from the federal, state and district governments as well as the city of Halle, as well as participating partner institutions!