Amyris, Wacker to Develop Precision-Fermented Ingredients for Personal Care
German specialty chemicals company Wacker has teamed up with US biotech firm Amyris to create bio-based, sustainable personal care ingredients using precision fermentation.
Weeks after expanding production capacity at its Brazilian facility, Californian precision fermentation specialist Amyris has joined forces with Wacker to develop bio-based ingredients for the personal care sector.
The deal is part of Amyris’s long-standing partnership with the specialty chemicals company, with both firms set to work more closely together to evaluate the potential of bio-based substances and basic chemicals for this sector.
They are looking to explore new development approaches and advance them in a structural process, with the aim of creating precision-fermented raw materials and functional substances for cosmetics and personal care formulations.
“By combining Wacker’s profound formulation and application technology expertise with Amyris’s biochemistry competence, a unique partnership is being created that is capable of scaling innovations in renewable biochemistry into highly effective cosmetic active ingredients,” said Lisa Roessler, head of sales and marketing at Amyris.
Amyris’s capacity expansion attracts Wacker
Based in Germany, Wacker is over a century old and makes highly developed specialty chemical and biotechnological products, including via the fermentation of cyclodextrin and cysteine products for the personal care and life science sectors.
Amyris, meanwhile, is a pioneer in the synthetic biology sector, operating a vertically integrated biomanufacturing setup to create customised sustainable ingredients.
At the heart of its technology is precision fermentation, a process that involves inserting specific a DNA sequence into microbes to teach them to produce desired molecules – like proteins, fats, vitamins, pigments and flavour molecules – when fermented.
Amyris transforms renewable raw materials into high-performance molecules for industries including flavour and fragrance, beauty and personal care, and specialty chemicals.
It operates four fully independent operational production lines at its facility in Barra Bonita, Brazil, following the installation of a 2x80m³ configuration last month. This enables the firm to accelerate its scale-up efforts and produce its molecules more efficiently.
The improved availability and scalable production of its biomanufactured products are of interest to Wacker, too. The focus of the collaboration is on bio-based molecules whose functional potential is unlocked at Waker through targeted processing and formulation.
“We are currently investigating whether we can specifically expand and complement our personal care portfolio with certain raw materials from Amyris,” said Ian Moore, personal care expert at Wacker.
A collaboration reflective of personal care’s sustainability shift
Wacker is also exploring the extent to which Amyris’s bio-based raw materials can be integrated into its existing production structures in the future.
“The development of market-ready solutions and the formulation and application compatibility of such products for the customer are significantly influenced by Wacker’s development, formulation, and production expertise,” Moore said.
To accelerate the development of planet-friendly personal care ingredients, the German company will contribute its comprehensive formulation and application expertise, while Amyris will bring its biotech and biomanufacturing know-how.
“Wacker is a leading developer of functional ingredients for the cosmetics and personal care industries. The company operates technical application and testing centres worldwide and therefore understands customer expectations for such products,” said Roessler.
“Combining these strengths creates synergies and a strong foundation for developing innovative, high-performance, and resource-efficient solutions,” she added.
The partnership is reflective of the personal care industry’s widespread shift towards more sustainable ingredients. Many startups, for instance, are using fermentation to create eco-friendly substitutes to palm oil and petroleum-based mineral oils for use in cosmetics and beauty products, including Savor, Melt&Marble, Äio, and NoPalm Ingredients.
Responding to this shift, Wacker debuted a new brand, Belnexrt, at this month’s In-Cosmetics trade show in Paris, showcasing products based exclusively on renewable raw materials.
“This allows us to offer manufacturers and formulators of personal care products a wide range of ingredients, from proven silicon-based solutions to plant-based products that offer similar properties but are completely bio-based,” said Moore.