TU Graduates Develop New Recycling Process for Phosphate

The three graduates met in the master’s program in Biochemical Engineering: In 2022, together with their fellow student Jan Seemann, they created a project for the chemPLANT competition, which is organized annually by the Association of German Engineers (VDI). They outlined a process in which phosphate can be recovered from secondary sources, such as raw slurry and municipal wastewater, using a filamentous bacterium. The mineral is crucial for agriculture as a plant fertilizer. However, the primary raw material deposits are limited, while the direct use of secondary sources like slurry contaminates the soil with nitrate. Therefore, recycling processes are an interesting alternative to meet the phosphate demand for agricultural cultivation in the future.

The work for the competition was a special experience for the student team, reports Fabienne Ryll: “Designing a new process completely independently – that was the biggest challenge we have ever faced.” From the shape of the bacterium, they derived the project name PhosFad, which the four still use today. With its pitch, the team reached second place in the final of the student competition and received a lot of positive feedback for its concept, not only from the chemPLANT expert jury but also at the university. “We then decided together that we want to pursue our idea further,” says Ronja Weidemann. “But pitches, networking, and business plan: that was a whole new world for us.”

Support for prospective female founders

That is why they have been participating in the FemaleFounders@CET program since January. This new advanced training offering was launched with the support of the EXIST-Women funding line of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) and is specifically aimed at women interested in founding a company. This is because the proportion of women among all spin-offs in Germany is only around 20 percent. Less than a third of start-ups have mixed teams like PhosFad. FemaleFounders offers participants targeted workshops and networking events. Abirtha Suthakar finds the exchange with the other female founders very motivating: “We are ten women with cool projects from very different areas, and yet we often come across the same problems and questions. It’s great that we can now support each other!” Each prospective female founder is also supported by a female mentor who can share her experiences from business, from entrepreneurship, or from her own start-up.

Feasibility study at the department

Abirtha Suthakar wants to encourage other students to participate in competitions and workshops for start-up ideas: “This is really not just something for high-flyers! We were also quite normal students and had no prior experience with start-ups. As students, we are simply still unbiased and can find creative solutions to current problems.” Fabienne Ryll agrees with her: “It’s a great opportunity to apply the know-how from your studies and get feedback from domain experts as well as experienced start-ups.”

During the ten-month FemaleFounders program, the participants work on the milestones they have set for themselves. The founders of PhosFad, for example, want to set up a business model and conduct market research by October. Ronja Weidemann, who has already completed her master’s degree, is also working on a feasibility study: Since January, she has been conducting this as a research assistant at the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering of Professor Stephan Lütz. “The bacteria arrived recently,” she says. “That was a highlight for the whole team! Now we can work on our first prototype.” Soon, with the results of the study, they intend to take the next step towards founding a company and apply for further funding programs.

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