AmphiStar Secures €2.5M SPRIND Biosurfactants Funding
Belgian biotech AmphiStar wins €2.5M SPRIND biosurfactants funding for Stage 3, marking its third consecutive grant from Germany’s innovation agency to advance circular manufacturing.
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Founded 2021 · Ghent, Belgium
Another win for Belgian biotech. AmphiStar has secured €2.5 million in fresh funding from SPRIND, Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, marking the company’s third consecutive grant from the prestigious innovation program. This latest biosurfactants funding brings AmphiStar’s total SPRIND support to €6 million since 2023, underscoring growing confidence in the Ghent-based startup’s potential to disrupt the €60 billion global surfactants market.
The grant enables AmphiStar to advance to Stage 3 of SPRIND’s Circular Biomanufacturing Challenge, where five teams will compete to produce three different products from waste in 180 days of continuous production. AmphiStar previously achieved 75 days of continuous fermentation in Stage 1, exceeding SPRIND’s 60-day target and demonstrating the commercial viability of waste-based biosurfactant manufacturing at scale.
Accelerating Circular Biosurfactants Manufacturing
The funding accelerates AmphiStar’s industrialization of continuous fermentation technology for producing sustainable biosurfactants from upcycled bio-based waste feedstocks. Unlike conventional surfactants derived from fossil fuels or palm oil, AmphiStar’s microbial biosurfactants are produced through fermentation processes similar to brewing beer, using waste materials like supermarket food waste and agri-food side streams.
“This renewed SPRIND support demonstrates strong confidence in AmphiStar’s vision and technological potential,” said Dr. Sophie Roelants, COO and Co-Founder. “The funding will help us optimise our continuous fermentation process further and unlock the next phase of commercialisation, bringing truly sustainable, waste-based biosurfactants closer to mainstream markets.”
The company’s synthetic biology platform uses the yeast organism Starmerella bombicola to produce over 80 distinct biosurfactant molecules, each tailored for specific applications in personal care, home care, and industrial sectors. Recent Life Cycle Analysis confirms AmphiStar’s biosurfactants deliver fourfold lower global warming potential compared to non-upcycled alternatives.
European Leadership in Sustainable Chemistry
The SPRIND recognition comes as AmphiStar expands its commercial footprint across Europe and North America. The company recently partnered with Kensing in North America and Caldic in Europe to distribute its AmphiClean and AmphiCare product lines, marking key steps toward mainstream adoption of circular biosurfactants.
“It is an honor to be recognized as one of the final five participants in Stage 3 of the SPRIND Challenge, following the challenging and thorough assessment conducted by the expert jury,” said Pierre-Franck Valentin, CEO. “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.”
AmphiStar has now raised over €24 million since its 2021 founding, including previous SPRIND grants (€1.5M in 2023, €2M in 2024), a €12.5M European Innovation Council investment, and backing from European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, Qbic, and PMV. The startup spun out from 15 years of research at Ghent University and aims to replace fossil-based surfactants in an industry producing 20 million tonnes annually.
