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Om een beter inzicht te krijgen in de behoeften van bedrijven in de Cellulaire Agricultuur-sector, heeft Planet B.io, in samenwerking met Cellulaire Agricultuur Nederland, een arbeidsmarktonderzoek uitgevoerd. Dit onderzoek biedt een overzicht van de huidige CA arbeidsmarkt, de aansluiting op het huidige Nederlandse onderwijs, en geeft richting naar de toekomst.

Every year the world produces enough polystyrene - commonly known as Styrofoam - to cover the size of Manhattan. This material, which takes over 500 years to decompose, continues to accumulate with no end in sight. This alarming reality is what drives Foamlab, a groundbreaking startup on a mission to replace this pollutive substance with a sustainable, compostable alternative. By tackling one of the most common environmental challenges of our time, Foamlab is ready to revolutionize the future of materials.

Jack Pronk is full professor in Industrial Microbiology and the head of the Biotechnology Department at TU Delft. His research focuses on understanding enhancing microbial performance in industrial processes by integrating quantitative physiology, genomics, synthetic biology, and evolutionary engineering. His team's work on yeast engineering for alcoholic fermentation and improving ethanol yields is applied on an industrial scale. Recently, he was awarded the prestigious Novozymes Prize, given annually since 1963 for outstanding European research in biotechnology. Planet B.io had the opportunity to sit down with Professor Pronk to discuss his views on entrepreneurship in industrial biotechnology.

Hologenomix, the newest resident at Planet B.io, is creating multi-omics profiles from human biofluids. As the first user of our Shared Service Lab, Hologenomix is poised to revolutionize early disease diagnosis through DNA analysis. Co-founders David Calderon Franco and Eric van der Toorn share insights into their journey and vision.

Fishway, member of Planet B.io, is the new kid on the block in the field of cellular aquaculture. Founded by Nina Coolsaet and Sam Van de Velde, Fishway aims to address the pressing challenges faced by the traditional fishing industry, such as overfishing, pollution, and the decline in biodiversity. By producing fish-derived ingredients, Fishway hopes to offer a sustainable alternative that preserves the nutritional benefits of fish without the environmental downsides.

The BaSyC consortium, focused on synthetic cell research and coordinated by TU Delft, visited Planet B.io to explore the intersection of biotechnology entrepreneurship and academia, inspiring young professionals through interactions with biotech founders.

Vorige week berichtte dsm-firmenich dat de Gistfabriek in Delft eind 2025 gaat sluiten. Naast het begrijpelijk sentiment en de weemoed daarover: Er gloort ook iets nieuws op het terrein van de oude arbeidersfabriek langs de Schie. Hier ontwikkelt zich een ultramodern innovatiecentrum op het gebied van biotechnologie. Daarachter schuilt een bedrijfsfilosofie, die met haar streven naar duurzaam gemaakte producten opmerkelijke overeenkomsten vertoont met de oude maatschappelijke idealen van Gistfabriek-oprichters Jacques en Agneta van Marken-Matthes. 

On the 12th of April, ExCulture won the dsm-firmenich Kickstart Prize, worth €50,000. The prize will help them to further develop their concept of mixed culture production of heparin. The Kickstart Prize is part of a larger grant provided by dsm-firmenich, that aims to support the collaboration between the TU Delft and dsm-firmenich, with a particular goal to support the growth of the innovation ecosystem at the Biotech Campus Delft. Planet B.io, the organisation that manages this ecosystem, is responsible for the identification of value-adding initiatives that can make the best use of the grant.

Bram Kerssemakers recently joined the Planet B.io team as Programme Manager Protein Port. He will take responsibility on all activities within Protein Port, a network of companies, institutes and educational institutions aimed at strengthening and accelerating the protein transition. We had a talk with Bram about his career and experience.