Belgian start-up AmphiStar has partnered with US surfactants producer Kensing to bring biosurfactants to the North American personal care market.
Belgian start-up AmphiStar has partnered with US surfactants producer Kensing to bring biosurfactants to the North American personal care market.
As part of the collaboration, Kensing would launch AmphiStar’s biosurfactants, produced by microbial fermentation of repurposed agri-food side streams, into the US market, the companies said.
In addition, the companies would work together to develop regionally-sourced circular feedstocks from bio-based waste and sidestreams, such as plant oils from Kensing’s production, with a near-term plan for full US domestic production, AmphiStar said on 17 June.
Suitable for mild formulations, the product range can be used emulsifiers and co-surfactants in body lotions, creams, shampoos, body wash, make-up remover and other products.
The companies said they would also co-develop AmphiStar’s recently launched biosurfactant platform technology, with a shared goal of further developing and commercialising products in the personal care, agrochemical and household and industrial and institutional (HI&I) sectors.
“Kensing’s scientific expertise in formulation and production of plant-based ingredients coupled with our novel bio-manufacturing technology platform make this a … complementary partnership that will not only help us bring our sustainable biosurfactants to the North American market, but also see us jointly develop and launch new ones in the future,” AmphiStar CEO Pierre-Franck Valentin said.
Established in 2021, AmphiStar is a spin-off company from Ghent University and the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.
Using a production method similar to processes used to brew beer, the company’s range of microbial surfactants are produced from locally-sourced waste and side-steams from the agri-food industry, such as supermarket food waste.
According to the company’s website, AmphiStar’s biosurfactant technology platform is based on the yeast organism Starmerella bombicola, which is used to produce over 25 specific variants of glycolipid biosurfactants.
Both conventional first-generation (1G) biomass feedstocks, such as glucose and fatty acids derived from locally-sourced plant oil, and second generation (2G) biomass feedstocks, such as crude glycerine and food waste, could be used in the process.
Established in 2021, Kensing produces a range of speciality ingredients derived from vegetable oils, including plant sterols, natural vitamin E, anionic and amphoteric surfactants, and speciality esters.
