Established in 2021, AmphiStar, a Ghent-based biotech startup offering locally produced microbial biosurfactants to companies seeking to develop sustainable, performant, and affordable products with surfactants as important performance ingredients, announced the conclusion of a €6 million in a funding round. This round was led by the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), with participation from Qbic III and the Flanders Future Tech Fund (FFTF).
Surfactants play a pivotal role as functional components in numerous products in our daily lives, ranging from shampoos to toothpaste, cosmetics, inks, paints, agrochemicals, food and feed and even construction materials. Over 20 million tonnes of surfactants are produced every year, of which the vast majority are relying heavily on unsustainable fossil- and/or palm oil feedstocks and are produced using harsh traditional chemical manufacturing processes.
AmphiStar is revolutionizing the surfactant market by introducing microbial biosurfactants produced from locally sourced waste- and side- streams from the agri-food industry, such as supermarket food waste. These innovative, circular biosurfactants do not compete with food production nor do they directly impact land use. Moreover, mild and safe biological processes similar to brewing beer are applied for their production. AmphiStar offers a comprehensive portfolio of biobased, biologically produced, and biocompatible glycolipids, such as sophorolipids, to brand owners of cleaning- and cosmetic products seeking genuinely sustainable, high-performing, and affordable alternatives.
The new capital infusion aims to empower AmphiStar to kickstart commercial biosurfactant production in collaboration with external partners. The investment is also meant to enhance R&D efforts to refine further and optimize its biosurfactant platform, complete the regulatory and certification dossiers and engineer its state-of-the-art production facility.
Sophie Roelants, Co-founder and COO stated: “AmphiStar will revolutionize the surfactant market. We have developed a unique platform technology and are the only company in the (bio)surfactant space successfully combining a set of different key technologies: waste- and side-stream technologies, synthetic biology, bioprocessing, purification and scaling expertise. With this capital injection and extended support from these prominent investors, we will bring our unique waste-based biosurfactant products to market and aim to make biosurfactants mainstream. We had a first market introduction of one of our waste-based biosurfactants with Ecover last year, showcasing the performance, safety and sustainability of our waste-based sophorolipids. We are looking for more sustainable partnerships and are open to collaborating. We are also looking for enthusiastic new talent to strengthen our team.”
Jowita Sewerska, Investment Director European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) said: “There is a clear market need for a better biosurfactants’ offer from the producers – in terms of performance, sustainability and price points. AmphiStar has great cards to play here and is now at an exciting point of accelerating the commercialization of its products.”
Sofie Baeten, Managing Partner Qbic III mentioned: ” As an early supporter of AmphiStar, we are thrilled to continue our shared mission of driving sustainable innovation. Leveraging over 15 years of cutting-edge research at Ghent University, AmphiStar’s technology enables the cost-efficient and ecological production of biosurfactants from renewable feedstocks, advancing the transition to a circular economy. We proudly support their efforts to drive a greener, bio-based industry, and look forward to the impactful outcomes of our collaboration in shaping a sustainable future.”
