From February 1st, 2011, SLOVBiotech.sk joins CLIB2021, the international cluster of industrial biotechnology with headquarters in Dussledorf. The memebership is the result of longstanding professional contacts of the SLOVBiotech.sk and the business negotiation on in January 2011 in Bratislava. It is understood as the beginning of potential long-run co-operation of SMEs, big corporations, universities, R&D institutions and investors in idustrial biotechnology.

CLIB2021 is an association of companies, academic institutes and investors fostering industrial biotechnology. The consortium’s more than 70 members include Germany’s who’s who in the chemical industry - Altana, Bayer MaterialScience, Bayer Technology Services, Evonik Industries, Lanxess, Henkel and Cognis - , SMEs like Artes, bitop, Protagen Phytowelt Green Technologies and the universities Bielefeld, Dortmund and Düsseldorf.
Industrial biotechnology enables the utilization of renewable resources and the development of novel materials and active substances for almost all markets and areas of life. Industrial biotechnology is an innovation driver in climate protection, with production processes that reduce greenhouse gases while improving competitiveness. Industrial biotechnology gives decisive impulses for innovation in many fields, such as the chemical, paper, leather and automotive industries, skin and hair care, household applications and medicine.
The Cluster CLIB2021 successfully established German and European industrial biotechnology - in industry, in small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and in academia. Taking a cross-regional approach, CLIB2021 wants to help make innovative business plans become reality.
The starting point for CLIB2021 was the "BioIndustrie 2021" competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in 2007. This competition was about the best cluster concept for establishing industrial biotechnology. CLIB2021 was awarded the 1st prize which involves promotion funds of 20 million euros from BMBF for projects in research & development.
CLIB2021 pushes biotechnology by initiating and financing trendsetting R&D through partnering. Dr. Kircher is delegated by Evonik Industries AG. Before he managed in 2001 - 2004 Degussa’s investment in Burrill & Company - a San Francisco based life sciences venture capital bank.
Dr. Kircher brings along more than 25 years of experience in the field of investments, biotechnology R&D, production and project development. He received his Ph.D at the Institute of Microbiology at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-University in Frankfurt/Germany in the area of molecular yeast genetics and joined Degussa in 1981. After organizing a biotechnological R&D department in Degussa’s feed additive business unit he was in charge of microbial strain development since 1984. Later he was co-building Fermas, an international joint venture for amino acid production in Slovakia. Since 1996, Dr. Kircher was director of biotechnology project development in Degussa’s R&D center Hanau/Germany. He managed in 2001 - 2004 Degussa’s investment in Burrill & Company - a San Francisco based life sciences venture capital bank.