Advanced BioCatalytics

What Advanced BioCatalytics does

Advanced BioCatalytics is a privately held industrial biotechnology company headquartered in Irvine, California, founded in 1996 and operating with 11-50 employees. The company develops and manufactures specialty biosurfactant chemicals — principally rhamnolipids and sophorolipids, with the recent addition of Mannosylerythritol Lipid (MEL) — produced through microbial fermentation processes that use waste cooking oil as feedstock. Its stated differentiation rests on a carbon-neutral, petroleum-free production model, EPA and IMO regulatory approvals, and a circular-economy input sourcing strategy.

The company serves five verticals — Energy/Oil & Gas (well stimulation, enhanced oil recovery, paraffin and asphaltene treatment, abandoned well remediation), Home Care / HI&I, Personal Care, Agriculture, and Water Treatment — through a hybrid go-to-market of direct enterprise field sales for custom formulations and an e-commerce storefront for sample ordering with worldwide shipping. A strategic R&D partnership with BP and BP Ventures, established in 2016, supported the development of asset-specific surfactant and polymer chemistry blends for the energy sector and remains the most prominent disclosed enterprise relationship.

Technology differentiators include the Fermactant product line (RL30, MEL, SL60 LF, SL60 HF variants), EPA-approved formulations including surface washing agents and deep water dispersants, and the ResiStim AI Analytics platform, which models chemistry performance against well-characteristics data to recommend product blends prior to field deployment. The company is led by CEO Chris Harano alongside founders Carl W. Podella (EVP R&D) and Jack Baldridge (CSO), with COO Bill Torres, VP Production & QC Morgan Laidlaw, and Director of Product Development Andrew D. Malec. Pricing is quote-based, contracts are multi-year, and no public revenue or funding totals are disclosed beyond the 2016 BP Ventures investment.

Name

Advanced BioCatalytics

Legal name

Advanced BioCatalytics

Website

https://abiocat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Advanced BioCatalytics is a privately held Irvine, California biotech that produces specialty biosurfactants (rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, MEL) via fermentation of waste cooking oil for energy, home care, personal care, agriculture, and water treatment customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemicals / Industrial Biotechnology

NAICS

Basic Chemical Manufacturing (3251)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Bio-based Surfactants, Detergent Ingredients & Oleochemicals (EUAAAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biochemicals & Bio-based Platform Chemicals (cellulose sugars, lignin derivatives, organic acids) (IMAMALAB), Bio-based Solvents & Process Chemicals (e.g., bio-acetone, bio-butanol, bio-IPA, green solvents) (EUAAAIAB)

Keywords

• Biosurfactant technology
• Specialty chemicals manufacturing
• Microbial fermentation chemistry
• Carbon-neutral surfactants
• Industrial biotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Specialty Biosurfactant Chemicals: Sale of specialty biochemical solutions including rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, and blended surfactant products for industrial applications. Products sold across Energy, Home Care, Personal Care, Agriculture, and Water Treatment verticals.
2. Custom Formulation Solutions: Tailored chemistry solutions developed for specific customer needs, including asset-specific surfactant and polymer chemistry blends for oil and gas operators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Advanced BioCatalytics manufactures and sells specialty biosurfactant chemicals—primarily rhamnolipids and sophorolipids—produced through microbial fermentation using waste cooking oil as feedstock. These biosurfactants are sold under the Fermactant product line for energy, home care, personal care, agriculture, and water treatment applications, supplemented by custom formulation services and an AI-driven chemistry modeling tool (ResiStim) for oil and gas operators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fermactant Product Line Brand of rhamnolipid and sophorolipid biosurfactant products offered in industrial and personal care grades (RL30, MEL, SL60 LF, SL60 HF variants) for sale to enterprise customers across energy, home care, personal care, agriculture, and water treatment verticals.
• Fermactant MEL Industrial Cleanser and Surfactant Mannosylerythritol Lipid (MEL) industrial cleanser and surfactant available in low and high HLB range, designed for use in industrial cleaning formulations and EPA-approved for performance and environmental compliance.
• Energy Solutions Surfactant and Polymer Chemistry Blends Asset-specific surfactant and polymer chemistry blends for oil and gas operators, covering well stimulation, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), frac operations, paraffin and asphaltene treatment, abandoned well restimulation and remediation, and orphan well recovery.
• Custom Formulation Solutions Tailored chemistry solutions developed for specific customer needs, including asset-specific surfactant and polymer chemistry blends for oil and gas operators.
• ResiStim AI Analytics Platform AI-powered software platform that analyzes, diagnoses, models, and tests chemistry performance against specific well characteristics data, recommending product blends tested on simulated asset samples to determine chemical recovery rates prior to field deployment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Accelerated outperformance in field trials since 2016 with BP partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BP / BP VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Strategic R&D partnership with BP and BP Ventures established in 2016. Focused development partner for fine-tuning product formulations and production processes to deliver accelerated outperformance in field trials. Created portfolio of asset-specific surfactant and polymer chemistry blends for energy sector applications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Evonik Industries: Major specialty chemicals company that commercially produces sophorolipid biosurfactants (Rheance One, Rheance Verona) via fermentation — directly comparable rhamnolipid/sophorolipid biosurfactant portfolio serving personal care and HI&I.
• Seppic (Air Liquid): Subsidiary of Air Liquide that produces sophorolipid biosurfactants (e.g., SIMALINE) for cosmetics and personal care; closest direct comparable on sophorolipid fermentation chemistry.
• Holiferm: UK-based biosurfactant scale-up producing sophorolipids and other glycolipids via fermentation for personal care and HI&I; comparable emerging biosurfactant producer targeting the same end-markets.
• Locus Ingredients (Locus Fermentation Ingredients): US-based fermentation company producing biosurfactants (e.g., Sophoron) from non-petroleum feedstocks for personal care and industrial applications; comparable bio-based surfactant startup.

Broad incumbents

• Croda International: Global specialty chemical incumbent with bio-based surfactant offerings serving personal care, home care, and industrial markets; competes for the same downstream formulators but across a much broader portfolio.
• BASF: Largest chemical company globally with extensive surfactant and oleochemical lines, including bio-based variants; overlaps with Advanced BioCatalytics across HI&I, personal care, and agricultural adjuvants.
• Stepan Company: US-based surfactant manufacturer serving personal care, HI&I, and agricultural markets; competes in the same downstream formulations and could expand into bio-based surfactants.
• Clariant: Swiss specialty chemicals incumbent with a Personal Care and HI&I business including bio-based surfactants; competes for the same downstream brand-owner customers.

Emerging players

• AmphiStar: Belgian biosurfactant startup producing rhamnolipids and other glycolipids from low-cost feedstocks; directly comparable emerging player with overlapping glycolipid technology.
• GlycoSurf: US-based startup focused on sustainable glycolipid and rhamnolipid surfactants from biological feedstocks; emerging player with overlapping biosurfactant technology targeting HI&I and personal care.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advanced BioCatalytics