In 2025, experts from the Plant Molecular Farming group secured Eurostars funding for the BRANCH project. Led by the Dutch startup New Dawn Bio, it aims to develop the first prototype of wood grown from tree plant cells produced in bioreactors. The instrumentation available at LIST is a real asset in this type of proposal.
LIST’s Hautcharage site has established itself as a strategic hub for biotechnology, thanks to a state-of-the-art facility housing some sixty experts within the Environmental and Industrial Biotechnologies unit. Its infrastructure covers the entire development cycle, from in vitro culture to pre-industrial prototypes, thus offering an ideal environment for co-designing bio-based innovations. The plant biotechnology platforms rely in particular on more than 500 cell lines and advanced analytical facilities that enable the production and characterization of high-value-added bioactive molecules sought after by the cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and agriculture sectors.
The site also stands out as a bioreactor platform unique in the Greater Region, as well as for infrastructure dedicated to biorefining, water treatment, and bioenergy production. This equipment enables the execution of projects at a high level of technological maturity and the testing of processes on a pre-industrial scale — a major asset for partners seeking to accelerate the transition from concept to market.
Capabilities in environmental biotechnology and water treatment, reinforced by existing collaborations with companies such as BIOROCK and CHEMRA, demonstrate the relevance of the infrastructure for validating directly applicable solutions. Finally, shared laboratories and co-innovation spaces, combined with specialized training programmes developed with equipment suppliers, create an attractive ecosystem for industry.
By bringing together state-of-the-art equipment, scientific expertise, and infrastructure suited for scaling up, the Hautcharage facility represents an ideal platform for new partnerships, offering a unique setting to develop sustainable, competitive processes ready for industrial-scale deployment.
