Biosurfactants partnership begins

Under a new strategic partnership, Kensing will supply Belgian biotech AmphiStar’s next-generation biosurfactants to the North American personal care market. Kensing is a producer of surfactants in its own right and claims to be the global leader in upcycled plant-based vitamin E and sterols.

The two firms will further combine to develop regionally sourced circular feedstocks from biobased waste and sidestreams, such as plant oils from Kensing’s own production, with a near-term plan to fully onshore production in the US. Finally, they will also co-develop AmphiStar’s recently launched library of 80+ ‘designer’ biosurfactant platform technology for personal care, agrochemical and HI&I applications. 

AmphiStar makes surfactants by microbial fermentation of repurposed agri-food side streams, combining advanced synthetic biology, waste processing and continuous biomanufacturing principles. In a recent lifecycle study, they achieved four- and 18-fold reductions in CO2 equivalent emissions and water deprivation respectively, plus 5.5- and 15.5-fold lower impacts on human health and the environment compared to conventional chemical-based and existing biosurfactants.