Enzyme Production at BASF

While chemistry is BASF's core, it is not commonly known that we also invest strongly in biotechnology – among others things in the large scale production of enzymes.

For millions of years our planet has developed its own way of creating molecules with all kinds of shapes and degrees of complexity. Long chains of amino acids, called proteins, became important building blocks and enable more complex forms of life. Some of these proteins have the potential to trigger specific chemical reactions in a very precise and efficient, repetitive way: They are called enzymes.

Almost every culture appears to have used natural enzymes for millennia: Through fermentation they found ways to bake their bread and brew their beer, thinking of enzymes as a secret force of nature.

Biotechnology has now made it possible to produce these enzymes ourselves, on a large scale, with environmentally friendly methods and for effective use in a multitude of common applications. At BASF we have invested in biotechnology for decades, increasingly so in recent years. We own and operate a large number of fermentation plants all over the world and a large contingent of our 12,000 colleagues in Research and Development are dedicated to exploring the boundaries of this promising technology of the future. Thanks to recent breakthroughs such as directed evolution and CRISPR-Cas, innovations come to the market at increasing speed and intensity. Our experts in engineering and production technology stand ready to take the new developments on board and scale up the production of enzymes and other bioproducts to world scale volumes.

BASF enzymes are fully developed and produced in-house through biotech-based manufacturing

In exceptional cases trusted business partners complement our supply chain. We as a company are uniquely positioned, combining new enzyme technology and world class knowledge in chemistry. In true partnership with the large and leading players in a wide variety of industries we are ready to take on the challenges that come with a growing world population.

Leading by example through our Product Stewardship and Safety Program

Our commitment to the safe handling and use of enzymes does not end at our customer’s loading dock. Though our Product Stewardship and Safety Program we support our customers along the path to best-in-class safety practices while fostering improvements to the customer experience.

Safeguarding every step of production through cutting-edge industrial hygiene techniques

People and the environment are our two most precious resources. Our Certified Industrial Hygienists are not satisfied with the status quo and constantly work to develop new and advanced methods for the detection and control of enzymes.