Evonik opens new biosurfactant plant in Slovakia

Evonik officially inaugurates its new sustainable biosurfactant plant together with key customers in Slovakia.

The plant represents an investment of several hundred million euros and is the first worldwide to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactants on a large scale. These extremely high-quality, sustainable biosurfactants are already transforming the cleaning, beauty and personal care industries and have great potential in many other applications.

"We go above and beyond to create completely new solutions that drive sustainable transformation in multiple industries. Our leadership, based on systems thinking and a shared vision with our customers, makes this scalable action possible," said Christian Kullmann, CEO of Evonik.

Evonik has been leading the development of biosurfactants on an industrial scale with its IP-protected fermentation-based rhamnolipid production process. Rhamnolipids are produced from renewable corn raw materials using a biotechnological process. This results in a high-performance, non-toxic, biodegradable biosurfactant. Rhamnolipids are in growing demand as they offer a sustainable alternative to surfactants based on fossil sources or tropical oils.

By 2030, Evonik plans to invest more than 3 billion euros in next-generation solutions - products with outstanding sustainability benefits. An example is the biosurfactant technology platform that Evonik is building to serve different industries.

The Nutrition & Care business of Evonik's Life Science division is a leader in the field of biotechnology. Driven by sustainable development, the division is using innovative biosolutions to address the challenges of biocycle care through closed-loop carbon systems while maintaining high functionality and protecting biodiversity. In addition to biosurfactants, the biosolutions of the Nutrition & Care business also include biotech actives, cell culture solutions and nucleic acid-based pharmaceuticals.

The new plant is located at Evonik Fermas, the company's site in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia. The biotech competences of the site have been accumulated over decades, making it a logical choice for the first industrial-scale rhamnolipid production plant. This consolidates Evonik Fermas' position as Evonik's biotech scale-up and launch platform.