https://www.evonik.com/en/news/press-releases/2024/05/evonik-drives-sustainable-biosurfactant-revolution-with-inaugura.html

Evonik has inaugurated a new rhamnolipid biosurfactant plant at its Fermas site in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia. The triple-digit million-euro investment is, according to Evonik, the world’s first plant producing rhamnolipids on an industrial scale.

Rhamnolipids are biodegradable surfactants produced by microbial fermentation. Evonik’s proprietary process uses renewable corn-based feedstocks, providing an alternative to surfactants derived from fossil raw materials or tropical oils.

The Slovakian site has decades of biotechnology and fermentation experience and serves Evonik as a scale-up and launch platform for biotechnological processes.