AFYREN working with Suez on organic waste valorization

In France, AFYREN, a greentech company that offers manufacturers natural, low-carbon ingredients produced using unique fermentation technology based on a completely circular model, and SUEZ, a world leader in circular solutions for water and waste management, are working together on a new way of creating value from organic waste.

Using waste from SUEZ’s collection and treatment activities, AFYREN’s process for manufacturing products that can replace petroleum-derived molecules promises to offer an attractive valorization path and a concrete, circular solution to the decarbonization challenges faced by a variety of industrial sectors.

The goal of this collaboration between AFYREN and SUEZ is to develop an offer based on this solution that would be complementary to the processes currently in place in France — such as those using bio-waste as amendment or to generate methane for energy purposes. In concrete terms, SUEZ is drawing on its expertise in organic waste to identify possible sources, while AFYREN is continuing laboratory tests at its R&D facility in Clermont-Ferrand. The two players will also be working on a business model with a view to marketing the solution, provided that it meets their financial and sustainability requirements.

Created in 2012 and running at industrial scale since 2022, the AFYREN process is based on the natural fermentation of biomass from locally sourced co-products that do not compete with human food crops. A wide range of raw materials can be used, including co-products from the sugar industry (beet and cane), other organic co-products (soy, cane, corn, beer production) — and now also organic waste from garbage collection. AFYREN’s ambition has always been to position itself using raw materials that have little or no value, with a view to creating better economics and bolstering sustainability.