BASF strengthens its position in bio-surfactants for Personal Care, Home Care and Industrial Formulators with two distinct partnerships

• BASF establishes a strategic alliance, including an equity stake, with Allied Carbon Solutions Co.,Ltd (ACS) Japan, a commercial provider of surfactants from biomass
• BASF enters a strategic technology cooperation with Holiferm Ltd, UK, to develop a state-of-the-art production process for biosurfactant products

Ludwigshafen, Germany - BASF has recently signed two distinct partnerships agreements to expand its global leading position in the bio-based surfactants and actives market. The strategic alliance with ACS includes an equity stake and makes BASF the single largest shareholder. It further entails an exclusive technology cooperation, commercial agreement and product development for sophorolipids, one class of glycolipids, to address the ever-increasing needs of consumers for sustainable, natural and bio-degradable ingredients and actives. The partners have agreed not to disclose financial details regarding the investment.
Through the strategic technology agreement with Holiferm, a UK-based start-up company, BASF establishes an exclusive cooperation to focus on developing and manufacturing sustainable, non-fossil based, fermentation-derived ingredients for other classes of glycolipids with potential for application in Home Care, Industrial Formulators and Personal Care products.

“We see strong business potential in these partnerships,” said Ralph Schweens, President, Care Chemicals, BASF. “While BASF already has solid innovation and production capabilities for surfactants, we are always scouting for opportunities to work with partners well-rooted in technologies which add to our strength in order to expand our product portfolio with additional biobased products.”

Collaboration with ACS to meet increasing consumer demands for safe and natural products

In collaboration with ACS, BASF developed a novel sophorolipid-based ingredient, produced via fermentation technology, and launched it in the Asian market under the brandname BioToLife™ in the second quarter of 2020. BioToLife™ has unique properties such as curbing the overgrowth of some harmful microbials and excellent cleansing, hence restoring an environment which supports the formation of a balanced micro-ecosystem in skin, scalp or oral care application. While the first product is already available, ACS and BASF will deepen the collaboration with the focus to develop a range of formulations based on sophorolipids with targeted performance.

“Biotechnology has been an established field in many industries for decades. More recently, it is also being used to develop Personal Care ingredients, predominantly active ingredients with high efficacy. ACS looks forward to a fruitful relationship with BASF,” said Yosuke Yamagata, CEO at ACS.

Collaboration with Holiferm to jointly develop fermentatively accessible glycolipids for Home and Personal Care and Industrial Formulator applications

Holiferm aims to accelerate the transition to circular economy by developing and supplying sustainable, non-fossil based, fermentation-derived ingredients for industrial and consumer products. The recently signed Joint Development Agreement between BASF and Holiferm is aiming at developing different glycolipids outside of sophorolipids for Personal and Home Care as well as Industrial Formulators applications. Combining Holiferm’s unique production technology and process know-how, and BASF’s leading position and knowledge in these industries will enable innovative solutions to be brought to customers even faster in the future.

“We value the collaborative approach BASF takes to strategic development and believe this partnership allows both partners to leverage their key innovation strengths. We look forward to working together to develop these further,” said Ben Dolman, CEO at Holiferm.

About the Care Chemicals division at BASF

The BASF division Care Chemicals offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial & institutional cleaning, and technical applications. We are a leading global supplier for the cosmetics industry as well as the detergent and cleaner industry, and support our customers with innovative and sustainable products, solutions and concepts. The division’s high-performance product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters. We have production and development sites in all regions and are expanding our presence in emerging markets. Further information is available online at www.care-chemicals.basf.com.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 110,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €59 billion in 2020. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com.

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