AmphiStar secures €2.5M SPRIND funding to speed circular biosurfactants

Belgian biosurfactants developer AmphiStar has been awarded €2.5 million in funding by SPRIND, Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, to accelerate continuous manufacturing of its microbial biosurfactants. 

This is AmphiStar’s third consecutive SPRIND award, bringing total support to €6 million and further validating its approach to converting bio-based waste into high-performance surfactants that are free from fossil and palm-based feedstocks.

AmphiStar develops and produces 100 per cent upcycled microbial biosurfactants as high-performance, sustainable alternatives to conventional surfactants.

Using its platform technology, the company converts bio-based waste and side streams into a portfolio of products that do not rely on fossil or palm-based feedstocks and require no direct land use, supplying sectors such as personal care, home care, and agrifood.

The company applies synthetic biology, microbial fermentation, and mild processing to manufacture these ingredients, and offers what it describes as the first commercially available biosurfactants made entirely from bio-based waste and side streams.

It is an honour to be recognised as one of the final five participants in Stage 3 of the SPRIND Challenge, following the thorough assessment by the expert jury. This funding strengthens our ability to deliver high-performance, circular ingredients that reduce environmental impact and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy,

said Pierre-Franck Valentin, CEO of AmphiStar.

SPRIND funding will enable AmphiStar to advance its continuous fermentation technology and accelerate the commercialisation of new biosurfactant molecules from its growing library, produced by microbially upcycling bio-based waste feedstocks into market-ready ingredients.

Recent partnerships with Kensing in North America and Caldic in Europe reflect increasing global interest in waste-based, sustainable solutions and mark milestones toward broader adoption of circular biosurfactants.