Introducing the TransBIB Competence Pool - In conversation with Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach
Managing Director and Owner | Sanomol GmbH
Dr Manfred Kircher: Good afternoon, Mr Wagner-Solbach! I look forward to our conversation
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: Mr Kircher, we've known each other for quite a while. I mean, our first meeting was back then at CLIB, on the subject of 5-HMF, if I remember correctly;
Dr Manfred Kircher: Yes, exactly, I remember that well too.
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: That was many years ago. In the bioeconomy, distances are short - you meet again and again.
Dr Manfred Kircher: Yes, although the scene has now become much broader - and it has to be if we want to take the bioeconomy seriously in all its complexity.
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: Absolutely;
Dr Manfred Kircher: You've just mentioned it: We've known each other for some time - that means you've also been active in the field for a long time. Perhaps you could tell us a little about how you got started in the bioeconomy - and what motivated you personally to get involved in it?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: With pleasure. I am a chemist by training and started my studies at LMU Munich in 1985. At the beginning of the 1990s, I did my doctorate in ecological chemistry at the Technical University of Munich - on behalf of Solvay and Peroxid Chemie.
At that time, the topic of sustainability was mainly present under the keyword End of Pipe: I was allowed to investigate at the end of a wastewater pipe, in the textile finishing industry, how chemical ingredients can be converted into more biodegradable ingredients;
Fortunately, a lot has changed since then. The bioeconomy has emerged, and today we are talking about a bio-based circular economy - a key issue of our time. I am very pleased that the topic is receiving so much attention today and that more and more people are getting involved.
My personal motivation has remained the same: I want to make the world a better place - and at the same time utilise the conveniences that modern chemistry and biotechnology offer us.
I want to make this planet a better place to live without having to sacrifice the quality and convenience of modern products.
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"I want to make the world a better place - and at the same time utilise the conveniences that modern chemistry and biotechnology offer us."
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Dr Manfred Kircher: You just mentioned the topic of "biodegradability" - so that was your first approach to the bioeconomy. For many colleagues, this is actually a classic introduction: the question of whether a product is ecologically compatible and biodegradable. My question - in light of your experience:
Is it enough to develop a biodegradable product in order to build a good, economically viable business with it?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: No, that's not enough - that's what I learnt back then. Although it worked well to make textile finishing wastewater more biodegradable, only a few plants were built. In the 1990s, many textile companies looked to South East Asia in the hope of saving on these investments. But what I also learnt: The companies that focussed on better, more environmentally friendly products back then still exist today for the most part. They produce high-quality technical textiles that are used in the automotive and aviation industries, for example. The path to the low-cost market is always a short-term one - many of the companies that went abroad back then no longer exist today or have long since been taken over. This has taught me that it pays to focus on quality and innovation. That is crucial.
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"It pays to focus on quality and innovation."
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Dr Manfred Kircher: You talk about "better products" - that's quite a broad term.
Can you be a little more specific? What exactly makes a product competitive? What does "better" mean in this context?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: The decisive factor is that the consumer really benefits from it. A good example is my work at the company AMSilk, where I helped scale spider silk production, among other things. When I started there, the company was able to produce several kilograms per year of a product called Silkgel - a thixotropic gel made from 3% protein in 97% water. This gel can replace silicone, for example in hair care products. It is biodegradable - unlike silicone - and gives the hair visibly more shine and suppleness.
Natura, one of the largest cosmetics manufacturers in the world, has also recognised this. They still use this product today. Silkgel is also used in repellents - it ensures that the active ingredient stays on the skin for longer. In contrast to silicone, the skin remains breathable. These are tangible benefits for the consumer: more beautiful hair, more comfortable skin. It makes a product better - and that's exactly what people notice.
Dr Manfred Kircher: And this effect must of course also be demonstrable, I assume?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: Absolutely - this has been proven in numerous external studies. The important thing is not to replace an existing product 1:1, but to develop a better product - with real added value. This can then be marketed accordingly. During my time at AMSilk, we scaled up production to several tonnes per batch within a year and a half. These batches were then regularly delivered to Brazil, to Natura, and from there the finished products were sold worldwide.
There were numerous product series that contained Silkgel - and some still do today. The success was so great that Givaudan, the global market leader for cosmetic ingredients, eventually acquired the rights to AMSilk's entire cosmetics business. The fact that Natura initially launched a hair care range in 2019 - and Givaudan followed this up with a complete skincare range last year - also shows how well received the product is. This was presented at in-cosmetics in Paris in 2024. That shows: The development continues. New products are constantly being added - but the basis is always the same: spider silk or Silkgel. And yes, I'm delighted that these and other products are now available in drugstores like DM or Müller - in real life, on the shelves.
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"And yes, I'm delighted that these and other products are now available in drugstores like DM or Müller - for real, on the shelves."
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Dr Manfred Kircher: This really is a genuine success story - especially for a high-tech product like this.
After all, the microbial production of spider silk is the result of sophisticated scientific research. We have now gone straight into a product example that has developed from a laboratory idea to a finished branded product. You also described the upscaling process that ran parallel to the market launch - this is certainly particularly exciting for many listeners. Can you explain this path - from the first product in the Erlenmeyer flask to the brand owner - in more detail?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: Yes, very much so. From the Erlenmeyer flask, you can usually get to the 10-litre reactor that you have available in the laboratory quite quickly. Then you set up a fed-batch process with a microorganism, for example - and it often works very well in the lab. But you have to take a close look: Why does it work so well? Which raw materials do I use? A typical example: In the laboratory, you often buy pure glucose from a chemical supplier. But in industrial practice, 99.9 per cent glucose is not used - dextrose 95, for example, is used. This contains only around 95% monosaccharides, plus disaccharides and disaccharides - so the behaviour in fermentation is completely different. This is why it is important to work with the input materials that are also used in large-scale technology at an early stage.
The major sugar producers - whether in Europe, America or elsewhere - offer different qualities of sugar that are better suited to industrial processes. If the process then works in the 10-litre reactor, you can think about it: Do I take the next step to 100 litres, then 1,000 litres, then 10 cubic metres? Or do I deliberately skip intermediate steps and go straight to 25 or 50 cubic metres?
I would definitely recommend the latter. Perhaps an intermediate step as a safeguard - but in principle a big leap in scale is often possible. If it works, you immediately have a marketable product or at least larger sample quantities that you can sell. In a 1,000-litre reactor, on the other hand, you often only produce costs without anything usable coming out of it. That's why I always say: no risk, no fun.
You have to weigh things up: How much time do we want to invest? How much security do we need? I would rather advocate a well thought-out but courageous approach - in other words, taking calculated risks. In the end, this saves time and money - and brings the product to market more quickly.
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"It is therefore important to work with the input materials that are also used in large-scale technology at an early stage."
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Dr Manfred Kircher: You have now described the manufacturing process - let's stick with the example of spider silk. You have shown how to set up a process suitable for industrial use. This is complex and expensive - even if you rent a plant to start with. However, the spider silk is not yet the finished end product. In the case of AMSilk, the application was a hair conditioner - that's real specialised knowledge. I assume that AMSilk didn't initially have the expertise to develop a conditioner. How do you realise that hair conditioning could even be a suitable application? And how do you then find the right users - i.e. customers who have to put in the development effort themselves? At what stage of upscaling would you recommend starting with such contacts?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: You should establish contacts as early as possible.
After all, it's all about formulation - in other words, how the active ingredient can be processed in a finished product.
For this you need so-called formulation guides, i.e. guidelines on how the substance can be used sensibly. This can be developed externally - but at AMSilk we have also built up this knowledge internally. We have helped customers to formulate the Silkgel in a meaningful way.
Whether they then adopted it one-to-one or developed their own recipe is up to them - but a good guide made it easier to use.
This creates a bridge to the customer: You show how the fabric can be used - and save both sides time. So you don't just wait to see if the customer finds the right way, but actively contribute your expertise.
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"So you don't just wait and see if the customer finds the right way, but actively contribute expertise."
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Dr Manfred Kircher: What recommendations would you give for drafting contracts?
A company like AMSilk - certainly highly professional, but as a start-up with limited resources - negotiates with large companies that have their own legal departments and strong brands.
How should a young company position itself so as not to directly hand over all its data and rights?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: That is an extremely important point.
The very first employee at AMSilk was responsible for patents - and I think he's still there today. Especially when it comes to contracts with big players, you need to be well prepared.
The other side has excellent lawyers - you have to be professionally prepared yourself.
There are contract lawyers who specialise in such negotiations. Yes, they cost a lot of money - but it's money well spent when it comes to core company values. You quickly realise how seriously the other party is taking the whole thing: You might get a 40-page draft contract right away, densely printed with paragraphs and clauses, many of which are potentially problematic.
That's when I learnt that you can simply delete many of these clauses.
Until you have a document that you can defend - with common sense, but also with clear principles.
And you can't do that alone - you need experts at your side to help you consistently assert your own interests.
Dr Manfred Kircher: Let's leave the topic of spider silk for a moment. You mentioned at the beginning that you have also worked with textile dyes, keyword: indigo. The unique selling point there is probably not as pronounced as with an active ingredient for a care product.
In your opinion, what are the differences - and what should you pay attention to when offering a product that is more of an "auxiliary substance", i.e. not directly in the focus of the end product?
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"In contrast to bio-based indigo, which is currently simply more expensive than its fossil counterpart, indigoidine can potentially be produced at parity in terms of price - with better performance." That makes all the difference."
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Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: Let's take the example of indigo - a widely used dye, especially for jeans. Classic indigo colours jeans blue. Now we can try to replace fossil indigo with bio-based indigo. That's a good idea - and some companies are doing it. But in practice, you end up with the same product - just more expensive. It gets more exciting when you bring another molecule into play - with similar properties but its own profile: Indigoidin.
This is structurally different, but also works via a redox reaction - i.e. first colourless, then blue in air - but can be produced very well biotechnologically. Indigoidin can completely replace indigo. It even offers advantages: It adheres better to the fabric, has a greater depth of colour, and it is more economically attractive because you can achieve the same effect with less material.
The company Shreenika Pioneering in California is currently the first large-scale manufacturer of indigoidine. We are working on preparing the market for this - with the aim that consumers will one day say: "I want these jeans - bio-based, colour-stable, high-quality." In contrast to bio-based indigo, which is currently simply more expensive than its fossil-based counterpart, indigoidin can potentially be produced at the same price - with better performance. That makes all the difference;
Dr Manfred Kircher: You have now presented two very different examples - and made it clear that you both understand biotechnology itself and can support the path to a marketable product. You have mentioned companies, production sizes, markets.
Where would you personally see your particular strength when it comes to your consulting services within the framework of TransBIB?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: I see my strength in connecting companies with the outside world. I always call it: Sourcing - Scaling - Selling.
So: Where do I get the right input materials? Who are the best production partners with whom I can manufacture something industrially? Then it's all about custom manufacturing organisations or contract development and manufacturing organisations, i.e. CDMOs.
And finally: Where can I find the right customers for the product? Because sometimes it's not enough just to sell the molecule - you also have to think about what the application looks like.
That's where it helps to work on the formulation together with partners in order to be able to offer a finished, marketable product. Only then can you approach major brand manufacturers, for example, and say: "I not only have the active ingredient, I can also show you how to use it."
All these external contacts are difficult for many companies. It's not easy to keep track of everything. I've been working in this field for over 35 years, I know a lot of markets and I think I'm quite busy. And I'm always happy when I can bring together the right contacts - sometimes systematically, but very often simply through personal networks. Especially for company founders fresh out of university, it's difficult to know these people. But that is often precisely what is crucial;
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"I see my strength in connecting companies with the world out there. I always call it: Sourcing - Scaling - Selling."
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Dr Manfred Kircher: This means that you not only accompany the market launch - but also the development of the entire production chain?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: Exactly;
Dr Manfred Kircher: There is often more to it than just the active ingredient itself. It requires a suitable formulation that enables safe application, allows stable storage and has the desired shelf life.
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: That's right - it's a central part of the development process.
Dr Manfred Kircher: You mentioned that you have been working in this field for over 35 years. During this time, you have built up a broad network that ranges from start-ups to established industry partners.
In conclusion, is there an example from your career that you particularly remember? Perhaps a situation in which a surprising turn of events occurred - an aha moment that symbolises your work?
Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach: I would actually like to come back to the topic of value chains at this point. I deal with the development of such chains on a daily basis - but what is exciting is that the term value chain is not that old. And I had the special pleasure of meeting the man who coined the term in the first place: Michael E. Porter.
That was a real highlight for me. Meeting him in person - someone who created a theoretical foundation that is so central to my professional work - was a special moment. I met him at an event in Munich at the time. And it's fascinating when a concept that you deal with every day suddenly gets a face.
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"... I had the special pleasure of meeting the man who coined the term [value chain] in the first place: Michael E. Porter"
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Dr Manfred Kircher: A good example - Porter not only stands for the concept of the value chain, but also for cluster theory. In other words, for the importance of networks - and thus for what we want to actively promote with TransBIB. They contribute precisely the expertise that is needed to transfer these networks into industrial practice.
And by industrial practice, I don't just mean established companies, but also universities and start-ups - in other words, all those who are yet to enter the market.
Mr Wagner-Solbach, thank you very much for this fascinating interview. You have shown very impressively how you combine scientific depth, industrial experience and a strong network to effectively support young companies on their way to market maturity. Thank you very much
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We would like to thank Dr Volker Wagner-Solbach for the interview.
The questions were asked by TransBIB project member Dr Manfred Kircher.