Synthetic biology project "From Plastics to Biologics" won the Merck Innovation Cup 2018
On 24 July, after an intensive week of developing a solid business plan, Arne Wehling, a doctoral student in the Cell Systems Dynamics Group headed by Professor Timm Schroeder, and his international team of graduate students convinced the jury of his idea to turn PET into a valuable resource. The jury consisted of Merck professionals, academics and international investors.
Arne had been chosen as one of the 75 international innovators which participated in the 2018 Merck Innovation Cup in July - out of more than 2000 applications. With his own project idea in mind, Arne arrived in Darmstadt, Germany, and was assigned to a team of talented students from Oxford, Harvard, Princeton, and Melbourne. He managed to persuade his fellow team mates to start developing a business plan on his idea in synthetic biology. Arne's team competed against 14 other teams - with subjects ranging from healthcare to artificial intelligence - and won the cup!
Arne's idea: By using the metabolically engineered microorganism E. coli, plastic waste could be turned into precious chemical compounds such as the essential amino acid methionine, a vital compound in the human body and global food production. The project "Plastics to Biologics" from the category "Life reimagined / synthetic biology" would give PET a new value and contribute to solving the world's plastic challenge by paving the way towards a future of upcycling.
Congratulations to Arne and his team - and best of luck in pursuing this fantastic idea!