TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Cosmetics
Holiferm is set to elevate its work in developing eco-friendly biosurfactants following a significant first close of an investment boost to build a commercial biosurfactant plant.
Biosurfactants are developed using a costly yeast-based batch fermentation process. Holiferm has developed a sustainable approach that allows this process to be carried out semi-continuously, enabling the delivery of green products to the mass market.
Scale-up Biosurfactants Production
The company’s journey towards this goal gathered pace with the launch of a pilot plant at Sci-tech Daresbury earlier this year. The USD 7M investment boost will enable Holiferm to build a biosurfactant manufacturing facility and fully commercialize its sustainable manufacturing process.
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Long-term, we want our range of green biosurfactants to remove the global market’s dependency on petrochemicals,” said Ben Dolman, Holiferm’s chief executive officer.
Led by US-based firm Rhapsody Venture Partners, this investment round demonstrates industry confidence in Holiferm and biosurfactants, as well as bringing exceptional support in growing a scale-up company and entering the US chemical market.
Initial Focus on Sophorolipid Production
The new commercial plant will produce 1,100 tons of biosurfactants a year for global supply, focusing initially on sophorolipid production for Holiferm’s existing customers and distributors, such as MixCleanGreen, Starbrands, Azelis and Eurosyn. Holiferm is also set to launch new biosurfactant products and is working in collaboration with BASF on the next two molecules in its pipeline. The new manufacturing facility is earmarked for location in Wallasey, in the Northwest of England.
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Holiferm's technology allows, for the first time, the production of clean and natural cleaning ingredients at a scale that makes them widely available to all consumers. At Rhapsody, we are excited by this potential and grateful for the opportunity to support the scale-up and manufacture of these products and to advance the biochemical industry generally,” said Jason Whaley, general partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners.
Range of Biosurfactants
Source: Holiferm