Where was plant biotechnology invented? Where were the walls between academia and industry, until recently as typically German as bratwurst, first torn down? Where was BioGenTec, the country's first concerted regional effort of politicians, businessmen and scientists to develop biotechnology, set up?
The answer to all three questions is North Rhine-Westphalia. Despite the unmemorable and difficult-to-pronounce moniker, even in acronym form, NRW has held the spotlight for biotech achievement in Germany since the 1980s, although it was on the verge of losing its pioneering role due to political indetermination around the turn of the century. Today, NRW is once again—in every sense—Germany's biotech big name.
The region between Rhine and Ruhr has long been the country's powerhouse of business and industry, notably heavy industry. Coal and steel production flourished for almost 150 years using the Ruhr area's plentiful resources, and a burgeoning chemical industry ...
