AFYREN, a French greentech company that offers manufacturers natural, low-carbon ingredients produced using unique fermentation technology based on a completely circular model, has identified the biomass families that will underpin its industrial expansion.
The announcement comes as the company hit the milestone of 2 million hours of fermentation in its R&D lab.
Jérémy Pessiot, managing director, R&D director and co-founder of AFYREN, said: “We have drawn our inspiration from natural ecosystems, where nothing is lost, nothing is created, and everything is transformed, to build a lean, high-performance technology based on extracting value from biomass. Over 12 years of applied research into the control of methanization in the laboratory, we have developed an industrial-scale fermentation process that is unique in its category. Today, we are continuing to invest in research to identify new ways of extracting value from biomass. This strategy should enable us to secure various sources of raw materials and replicate a profitable industrial model in a diverse array of geographical regions, with a focus on short supply chains.”
Technology based on biomimicry
The result of a decade of research in chemistry and biology and protected worldwide by 10 patent families, the AFYNERIE process converts a wide range of organic raw materials into bio-based molecules using natural, non-genetically modified micro-organisms.
Inspired by living organisms and entirely biomimetic, the process reproduces on an industrial scale the fermentation that has been around for millions of years in natural ecosystems and on which, for example, the methanization process, used today for energy production, is based.
AFYREN’s expertise lies in controlling the transformation of the bio-based raw material to promote the production of carboxylic acids. The acids are extracted then processed through separation and purification stages to obtain products that meet industry specifications and current regulations.
This is at the heart of the ‘drop-in’ approach, which enables direct replacement of petroleum-based molecules by bio-based molecules in the company’s clients’ existing production process. The end products are commonly found for example in food products or cosmetics, opening up markets that go well beyond those offered by methanization.
60 biomass families identified
Following its experience in valorizing by-products from the sugar industry at the AFYREN NEOXY plant in France, AFYREN is continuing its work to identify new sources of raw materials.
Since the company was founded, AFYREN’s R&D teams, made up of chemists and biologists, have carried out tests on more than 300 potential raw materials made available by the players and partners in the agri-food and farming industries around the world.
These tests have enabled AFYREN to qualify 60 families of biomass (agricultural by-products, by-products of the food industry, etc.) that can be transformed into 100% bio-based molecules on an industrial scale. The recent partnership signed with SUEZ paves the way for the recovery of household organic waste.
The company said the work shows that a wide range of organic raw materials can be upcycled in this way, even though they were originally considered to be of little use.
New circular value chains
AFYREN’s innovation portfolio currently comprises around 10 projects aimed at developing partnerships for new products and circular value chains. It follows an eco-design rationale, incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance criteria such as carbon footprint, energy mix or the nature of raw materials and their transport.
About AFYREN
AFYREN is a French greentech company launched in 2012 to meet the challenge of decarbonizing industrial supplies. Its natural, innovative and proprietary fermentation technology valorizes local biomass from non-food agricultural co-products, replacing petro-sourced ingredients usually used in many product formulations.
AFYREN said its 100% biobased, low-carbon and sustainable solutions can meet decarbonization challenges in a wide variety of strategic sectors: human and animal nutrition, flavors and fragrances, life sciences and materials, and lubricants and technical fluids. AFYREN’s plug-and-play, circular technology combines sustainability and competitiveness, with no need for manufacturers to change their processes.
AFYREN is also pursuing a project in Thailand with a global player in the sugar industry, and is developing its presence in the Americas, following up on distribution agreements it has already signed.
Jim Cornall is editor of Future Food Today and publisher at Ayr Coastal Media. He is an award-winning writer, editor, photographer, broadcaster, designer and author. Contact Jim here.
