These high-quality, sustainable biosurfactants are already revolutionizing the cleaning, beauty, and personal care industries, with potential for further 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,” said Christian Kullmann, CEO of Evonik. 

Evonik is advancing in the field of biosurfactants with its proprietary fermentation process for producing rhamnolipids. These are produced from renewable corn resources using a biotechnological method, resulting in an efficient, non-toxic, and biodegradable biosurfactant. Rhamnolipids are gaining attention as they offer a sustainable substitute for surfactants derived from fossil fuels or tropical oils.

The new facility is located at Evonik Fermas in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia. The site’s established biotech capabilities made it a fitting choice for the first large-scale rhamnolipid production. This enhances Evonik Fermas’ role as a key biotech development and launch site for Evonik.

Evonik plans to invest over €3 billion in Next Generation Solutions, products with enhanced sustainability, by 2030. The biosurfactant technology platform Evonik is developing to cater to various sectors is an example of this.