bioCircular Loop
bioCircular Loop is the podcast about success stories, innovation and newest developments in the European circular Bioeconomy. It aims to educate, inform and inspire listeners with content about how circular bioeconomy presents the answer to humanity's greatest societal challenges, especially climate change and resource depletion. The podcast hosts the people that are driving this industrial bio-revolution, each episode deep-dives into a different organisation, industry and technology.
Episodes
32 episodes
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #11 Can Europe keep up with China and US in scaling bio? ft. Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this final episode of the miniseries features Hendrik Waegeman, Head of Business Operations at Biobase Europe Pilot Plant, reflecting on what it really takes to scale bio-b...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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22:13
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #10 When the corporate opts out: scaling a bio-based PET alternative anyway ft. Tasseikan
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Marc Lankveld, Founder of Tasseikan, on building a biotech route to replace PET with a bio-based alternative...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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17:11
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #9 Biotech and baking: the secret ingredient to successful scaling ft. Puratos
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Bram Pareyt, Group Upstream R&D Director at Puratos, on what biomanufacturing actually looks like inside a global food ingredients company....
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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11:25
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #8 Rethinking crop protection: Can Llama antibodies replace chemical pesticides? ft. Biotalys
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Bart Walcarius, Head of Technology Integration at Biotalys, on what it really takes to scale protein-based crop protection Biotalys is dev...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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11:35
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #7 When there is no appetite for risk, who is funding FoodTech? ft. EIT Food
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Yvette Go, Investor at EIT Food, on what it really takes to finance and scale bio-based and food innovation in Europe.EIT Food, an initiative b...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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17:24
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #6 From barrel to butanol: making green chemicals with whiskey waste ft. Celtic Renewables
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Martin Tangney, Founder & President of Celtic Renewables, one of Europe’s most established bio-based scale-up stories.Celtic Renewables tak...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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17:08
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #5 Blast furnaces & bacteria: scaling bio in heavy industry ft. ArcelorMittal
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Kristof Verbeeck, Business Development at ArcelorMittal Belgium, on what it actually means for heavy industry to bet on bio-manufacturing.Arcel...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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13:59
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #4 Paving the way to scale: the fungal future of roads ft. Visibuilt
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Line Kloster Pedersen, Founder & CEO of Visibuilt, and one of the boldest ideas we’ve seen on the bio-based stage this year. Visibuilt...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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10:18
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #3 Bioreactors don't do beta versions and why tech VCs are out of their league with bio ft. Capricorn Partners
Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Rob van der Meij, Partner at Capricorn Partners, on what it really takes to scale bio-based innovation.The key message? Scaling bio is...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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15:48
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #2 Breaking Down the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy: From Policy to Scale ft. EU Commission
Recorded live at Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy in Brussels (24–25 November 2025), this episode features Agata Kotkowska from the European Commission on the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy and what it really means for scaling bio-based innovation i...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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12:54
A Pitch Perfect Miniseries | #1 Lab to fab to geopolitics: Europe’s Bioeconomy at a crossroads ft. CBE-JU
Recorded live at Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy in Brussels, this episode features Nicolo Giacomuzzi-Moore, Executive Director of CBE JU, on Europe’s competitiveness in scaling bio-based innovation from lab to market Ten years ago,...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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17:14
#20 No cows were harmed in the making of this episode ft. Qorium
In this episode of the BioCircular Loop podcast, host Melina Gerdts discusses the advancements in the European circular bioeconomy, focusing on cellular agriculture and lab-grown leather. She interviews Michael Newton, CEO of Qorium, a Dutch st...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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50:53
#19 Biorevolution for democratic resilience ft. IFIB2025 & Mario Bonaccorso
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, host Melina Gerdts recaps the 2025 edition of the International Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (IFIB) with Mario Bonacorso, the organizer and Director of the Italian SPRING cluster. They expl...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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56:04
#18 Chewy cheesy casein made with precision fermentation and the key to scaling this innovation ft. Standing Ovation
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts discusses the challenges of sustainable protein production with Yvain Chardonnens, CEO of Standing Ovation. They explore the environmental impact of traditional dairy farming ...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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40:00
#17 Making soil sexy again: food security, biodiversity & climate change depend on it ft. BetterSoil
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, host Melina Gerdts discusses the critical role of soil in climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and global food security with Azadeh Farajpur, Founder of BetterSoil. They explore ...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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46:38
#16 A pineapple powered revolution: rethinking leather and empowering farmers in the Philippines while doing so ft. Ananas Anam
In this episode of the Biocircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts interviews Dr. Carmen Hijosa, founder of Ananas Anam, about the innovative leather-substitute Pinatex, made from pineapple waste. They discuss the environmental impact of traditiona...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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46:04
#15 How to cross the biotech Valley of Death and manage the bumpy road to scaling bio-based innovations ft. Bio-Base Europe Pilot Plant
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts discusses the challenges biotech startups face in scaling their innovations from lab to industrial scale with Hendrik Waegeman, Head of Operations at the Bio-Base Europe Pilot Plant...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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52:51
#14 Building European resilience with bio-based innovation ft. Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)
This episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast provides an in-depth exploration of the circular bioeconomy in Europe, featuring insights from Marco Rupp, Deputy Executive Director of the Bio-Based Industry Consortium (BIC). The discussion covers ...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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43:40
#13 Plastic-free, invisible and edible: protecting cucumbers the Swedish way ft. Saveggy
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts discusses the challenges of food packaging, particularly in preserving fruits and vegetables while reducing plastic waste. She interviews Arash Fayyazi, co-founder of Savage, a Swed...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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41:14
#12 Is the future of chocolate cocoa free? ft. Foreverland
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, we discuss the challenges facing the cocoa industry and the innovative solutions being developed to create sustainable chocolate alternatives. The conversation features Massimo Sabatini, CEO of F...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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47:06
#11 Shaping a net-zero future for plastics and smelling like wood doing it ft. Lignin Industries
This episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast discusses the innovative use of lignin, a byproduct of wood processing, to create bioplastics. The conversation explores the environmental impact of traditional plastics, the potential of lignin in s...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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46:16
#10 Making bio-based food packaging from tomato peels ft. Tomapaint
Tommaso Barbieri shares the story of Tomapaint, a startup focused on creating bio-resins from byproducts and waste from the Italian tomato processing industry. He discusses the innovative technology behind their product, bio-based cutin, and it...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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32:56
#9 Perfume made from recycled textiles, Fast Fashion and the EPR ft. Re-Fresh Global
In this episode of the BioCircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts interviews Viktoria Kanar, CEO of Refresh Global, a startup focused on innovative textile recycling. They discuss the challenges of textile waste management, the impact of fast fash...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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47:37
#8 Recycling wild plastic and why scaling the circular economy is also a social mission ft. WILDPLASTIC
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts discusses the pressing issue of plastic waste and recycling with Christian Sigmund, CEO of WildPlastic. They explore the current state of plastic recycling, the system innovation ap...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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44:34
#7 How AI can secure biomass supply and power bioCircular business models ft. VCG.ai
In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, Melina Gerdts discusses waste valorization and the role of artificial intelligence in enhancing these processes with John Goriup, CEO of VCG.AI. They explore how AI c...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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45:25
