France has one of Europe’s largest and most rapidly advancing biotechnology industries. It is home to a growing number of companies involved in biomanufacturing including AFYREN and GREENTECH.
Today, the world is on the cusp of an industrial revolution fuelled by nature. The use of living organisms and biological components in manufacturing continues to grow. The rise of so-called “biomanufacturing” is driving incredible, unprecedented technological advancements, underpinned by nature-based processes and catalysts such as fermentation, enzymes, and microorganisms.
Using renewable natural materials and biological processes in manufacturing has long been regarded as a way of moving beyond our unsustainable fossil fuel economy. Emerging biological technologies are now transforming the way a whole swathe of everyday products are made – from clothing, plastics, and beauty products, to food, fuels, and concrete. Over the next decade, the value of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market is expected to increase from US$ 20 billion to US$ 40 billion.
France has one of Europe’s largest and most rapidly advancing biotechnology industries and is home to a growing number of companies involved in biomanufacturing.
AFYREN: Decarbonizing Supply Lines
AFYREN is a French greentech company working to meet the challenge of decarbonizing industrial supplies. The company currently operates one factory in eastern France and is building a second one in Thailand.
According to Caroline Petigny, AFYREN’s Director for Sustainability, Communications, and Public Affairs,
“AFYREN was founded in 2012 to use agricultural by-products to manufacture useful chemical ingredients. These can serve as ‘drop-in’ replacements for petroleum-derived products. Our plug-and-play, circular technology combines sustainability and competitiveness, with no need for manufacturers to change their processes.”
AFYREN’s 100% biobased, low-carbon and sustainable solutions can meet decarbonization challenges in a wide variety of strategic sectors. These include human and animal nutrition, flavors and fragrances, life sciences and materials, lubricants, and technical fluids. The company operates in a completely circular way and strives to make supply chains short.
The AFYREN philosophy is exemplified by the company’s innovative, zero-waste, biomimetic “AFYNERIE” process. This process uses colonies of non-GMO microorganisms to ferment biomass. This reduces the carbon footprint of the seven organic acids it produces by over 80%, compared with petroleum-based products. The system produces bio-based fertilizers as a by-product, which farmers can use for new crop cycles.
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For Caroline Petigny, AFYREN’s products provide solutions to contemporary challenges, such as food safety, biodiversity decline, and climate change,
“A good example of this is our collaboration with French biotech company Cearitis, with whom we are developing a biocontrol system that allows orchards to control insects while preserving biodiversity. And our VITAFYREN biobased acids enhance food safety and help to reduce food waste by acting as mould inhibitors and preservatives.”
Moving forward, AFYREN’s priority is to ramp up production at its first plant in France. The company is also preparing to extend production capacity internationally in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It is also managing a project to diversify the sourcing of raw materials and the development of new products.
GREENTECH: Wide-ranging Innovation
The ever-diversifying nature of the biomanufacturing sector is exemplified by the French company GREENTECH. Founded in 1992, it is one of the early European pioneers of plant biotechnology. This multinational produces a range of products for the cosmetic, healthcare, nutraceutical, and agronomy industries. More than 30 years of research into biotechnology, metabolically oriented fermentation, phytochemistry, green extraction, biomimetics, and microbiota underpin active ingredients from plant, marine, and microbial environments.
According to Bertrand Charmier, GREENTECH’s Head of Communications,
“We are proud to possess an extensive and well-rounded arsenal of skill sets in phytopharmacy encompassing fermentation, ethno-botanics, bio-informatics, molecular modelling, and transcriptomic studies. Moreover, we leverage our own patented cryo-extraction technology, which allows us to preserve the quintessence of plant-based activity.”
Leveraging research into the holobiont – a collection of species that perform complex interactions in the microbiome – GREENTECH launched a pioneering active ingredient to treat dry skin in 2023. HOLOBIOSYS originates from a purified extract of organic wild yellow gentian roots, sustainably harvested in France. An upcycled fermentation process, using a rare and cold-tolerant aerobiotic strain of bacteria, enhances the extract.
“With increasing age and loss of hydration, GREENTECH research shows that there is a slow-down of skin barrier and antioxidant functions, from both a human and microbial perspective,” explains Bertrand Charmier. “By focusing on host-microbiota interactions, HOLOBIOSYS stimulates these functions, contributing to a more harmonized and invigorated holobiont.”
In 2024, GREENTECH collaborated with a range of partners – including Michelin, Danone, DMC, and Crédit Agricole Centre France – to invest 16 million euros in a new precision fermentation center, called the “Biotech Open Platform” in Clermont-Ferrand. The platform will accelerate precision fermentation development by scaling up lab-tested innovative products and processes. The aim is to install a demo-scale production line, including a fermenter and purification equipment, by next year, with additional equipment and a second production line to follow.
GREENTECH already has a significant international presence, with half of the company’s revenue derived from exports. The GREENTECH Group – comprising GREENTECH, GREENSEA, and GREENCELL – has eight subsidiaries in Germany, the US, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Brazil, Senegal, and India. The company is currently looking to expand into Saudi Arabia, to take advantage of industrial development taking place as part of the country’s Vision 2030 plan.
