CLERMONT FERRAND – Afyren has received a €3 million grant from France’s Grand Est Region, financed through the European Just Transition Fund, to support performance investments at its Afyren Neoxy biorefinery in the Grand Est region.
The company has also met the milestones required for final payment of a separate France Relance grant managed by Bpifrance, further underpinning its industrial development programme.
The funding will be used to enhance the operational performance of Afyren Neoxy, which is now fully owned by Afyren, with a focus on strengthening the reliability and efficiency of its fermentation-based production lines.
While the plant is not dedicated solely to nonwovens, it produces a portfolio of biobased carboxylic acids that are increasingly relevant to binders, finishes, and auxiliary chemistries used in nonwoven materials.
Afyren’s core process is a proprietary, nature-inspired fermentation technology that converts local, non-food agricultural co-products into 100% biobased, low‑carbon carboxylic acids. For downstream users in sectors such as materials science, lubricants and technical fluids, this offers a drop‑in alternative to petro-based intermediates without major changes to existing process equipment.
The Just Transition Fund support reflects the European Union’s aim to couple decarbonisation with regional economic resilience in strategic sectors. By targeting projects such as Afyren Neoxy, the Grand Est Region is backing industrial-scale bio-based chemistry that can supply multiple value chains, including performance chemicals, coatings and potential nonwoven binder systems, from locally sourced biomass.
Chief executive officer Nicolas Sordet said recent geopolitical tensions had exposed the vulnerability of supply chains heavily tied to fossil-based feedstocks, underlining the case for alternative bio-based solutions. He added that full ownership of the Afyren Neoxy biorefinery enables the company to press ahead with an investment programme to reinforce the performance of this industrial asset, with public funding providing additional support.
For technical teams in nonwovens and related industries, Afyren’s model offers potential access to bio-based acids for use in polymer modification, functional additives and process chemicals, with a reduced carbon footprint compared with conventional petro-derived options. The plug‑and‑play nature of the company’s technology at customer sites is intended to minimise disruption, allowing manufacturers to integrate bio-based inputs without altering line configurations or processing conditions.
