The specialty chemicals company Evonik opened a new production site for its Evonik Advanced Botanicals subsidiary in Tours, France. Evonik is active in over 100 countries and the subsidiary was originally founded in 2016, when Evonik acquired the French startup Alkion Biopharma SAS, an expert in biotechnological production of plant-based active ingredients. By now the subsidiary is part of the Personal Care Business Line. During the opening ceremony in Tours, Evonik announced its plans to develop the site into a centre for plant-based cosmetic active ingredients.

Beneficial extracts of plant biomass

Evonik Advanced Botanicals developed a process that enables the cultivation of plant biomass under laboratory conditions and recovering beneficial extracts while achieving an extraordinarily high yield of complex ingredients. The technology itself is based on the plants’ ability to produce a broad spectrum of secondary metabolites when required. Evonik hopes to utilise this potential without modifying the plant genome, which will make it possible to produce plant extracts with a high concentration of the desired bioactive substances. The goal for the new site in Tours is that Evonik will be able to offer custom-tailored, plant-based, high-performance active ingredients in highly concentrated and reproducible forms, which are manufactured in a resource-efficient process. 

Collaborative neighbourhood

The Tours region is located in the ‘Cosmetic Valley’, the world’s largest cluster of cosmetic companies. The direct neighbourhood of both customers and scientific collaborators, such as the University of Tours where a biotechnology department is planned, will help to promote future growth. 

The new production site is designed to produce commercial quantities of the aforementioned plant extracts, and many customer projects for tailored products are already at an advanced stage. Evonik estimates that the new products developed and created in Tours will be available in 2018. 

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