Evonik Inaugurates a New Plant in Slovakia to Fuel the Sustainable Biosurfactant Revolution

Evonik has officially opened its new sustainable biosurfactant factory in Slovakia in collaboration with important clients. The triple-digit million-euro plant is the world's first to produce industrial-scale rhamnolipid biosurfactants. These extraordinarily high-quality, sustainable biosurfactants are already revolutionizing the cleaning, beauty, and personal care sectors, and they have enormous potential for use in a variety of other applications.

“We go beyond to create entirely new solutions and drive the sustainable transformation across multiple industries. Our leadership, based on systems thinking and a shared vision with our customers, has made this scalable action possible,” stated Evonik CEO Christian Kullmann.

Evonik has been at the forefront of the development of industrial-scale biosurfactants with their IP-protected, fermentation-based rhamnolipid manufacturing technology. Rhamnolipids are produced using a biotechnological technique from sustainable maize feedstocks. This results in a high-performance, non-toxic, biodegradable biosurfactant. Rhamnolipids are in high demand because they provide a more sustainable alternative to surfactants derived from fossil fuels or tropical oils.

By 2030, Evonik hopes to have spent more than €3 billion in Next Generation Solutions, which are products that provide higher sustainability advantages. One example is Evonik's biosurfactant technology platform, which is being developed to service a variety of sectors.

Nutrition & Care, Evonik's life sciences business, leads the company's competence in biotechnology. Driven by sustainability, the division is developing unique biosolutions to solve biocircular care concerns via closed-loop carbon systems, while retaining high functionality and biodiversity. Nutrition & Care's biosolutions also comprise biotech actives, cell culture solutions, and nucleic acid-based therapies.

The new plant is located at Evonik Fermas' Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia location. The site's biotechnology capabilities have been developed over decades, making it the ideal location for the first industrial-scale rhamnolipid manufacturing plant. This enhances Evonik Fermas' position as a biotechnology scale-up and launch platform for the company.

Source: Evonik