German biomaterials company AMSilk has signed a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement with Ajinomoto Foods Europe (AFE) to move its silk protein production from industrial validation to dedicated, large-scale manufacturing. The agreement builds on a collaboration the two companies first entered in 2023.
AMSilk, headquartered in Neuried near Munich, develops silk proteins through precision fermentation as an alternative to conventional and animal-derived materials, supplying the textile, automotive, medical, and consumer care sectors.
“Hundreds of tons per year and beyond”
Hiroshi Kaneko, President of Ajinomoto Foods Europe, said the expansion demonstrates AFE’s position as a manufacturing partner: “We are proud to expand our strategic collaboration with AMSilk, further demonstrating AFE’s capabilities as a trusted contract-manufacturing partner in industrial biotechnology.
“Leveraging our industrial infrastructure and our expertise in precision fermentation and downstream processing, we are well positioned to efficiently scale AMSilk’s silk proteins to commercial volumes and support their growth toward hundreds of tons per year and beyond.”
Image supplied by AMSilk
Dedicated line in Nesle, France
Under the deal, AFE will build a production line exclusively for AMSilk at its biomanufacturing site in Nesle, France, using 160 m³ of fermentation reactor capacity paired with customized downstream processing. According to AMSilk, the site’s location supports supply chain efficiency and a competitive cost structure, while a “Made in France” designation is expected to appeal to customers. The facility will also draw on locally sourced raw materials and renewable energy.
The companies describe the buildout as a multi-million joint investment covering equipment, installation, and facility upgrades, intended to create a purpose-built, certified manufacturing environment for AMSilk’s proprietary process. At full output, the line is expected to reach commercial volumes of industrial-grade silk protein.
The agreement also includes a framework for adding further precision fermentation capacity in future years, which the companies say will strengthen supply security.
“As we move into the next phase of growth, scaling our production capabilities is a key priority”
AFE is part of the Japan-based Ajinomoto Group. AMSilk has also expanded manufacturing partnerships with Evonik and 21st.BIO as it works to scale silk protein output across multiple production sites.
AMSilk CEO Christian Wichert, who took over the role from Ulrich Scherbel on June 1, added: “As we move into the next phase of growth, scaling our production capabilities is a key priority. With its strong manufacturing expertise and strategic location in the heart of Europe, AFE is an ideal partner to support this growth. The addition of dedicated manufacturing capacity is an important step in translating our technology into sustainable commercial growth.”
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
!function(){“use strict”;if(“querySelector”in document&&”addEventListener”in window){var e=document.body;e.addEventListener(“pointerdown”,(function(){e.classList.add(“using-mouse”)}),{passive:!0}),e.addEventListener(“keydown”,(function(){e.classList.remove(“using-mouse”)}),{passive:!0})}}(); body.single article .entry-content { display: block; } var eb_conditional_localize = []; var EssentialBlocksLocalize = {“eb_plugins_url”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-content/plugins/essential-blocks/”,”image_url”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-content/plugins/essential-blocks/assets/images”,”eb_wp_version”:”7″,”eb_version”:”6.3.0″,”eb_admin_url”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-admin/”,”rest_rootURL”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-json/”,”ajax_url”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php”,”nft_nonce”:”939f19b5ae”,”post_grid_pagination_nonce”:”f0143ad58d”,”placeholder_image”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-content/plugins/essential-blocks/assets/images/placeholder.png”,”is_pro_active”:”false”,”upgrade_pro_url”:”https://essential-blocks.com/upgrade”,”responsiveBreakpoints”:{“tablet”:1024,”mobile”:767},”wp_timezone”:”Europe/London”,”gmt_offset”:”1″}; //# sourceURL=essential-blocks-blocks-localize-js-extra var cbxwpbookmark = {“ajaxurl”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php”,”nonce”:”9ee3363c8d”,”cat_template”:””””,”category_delete_success”:”Category deleted successfully”,”category_delete_error”:”Unable to delete the category”,”are_you_sure_global”:”Are you sure?”,”are_you_sure_delete_desc”:”Once you delete, it’s gone forever. You can not revert it back.”,”areyousuretodeletecat”:”Are you sure you want to delete this Bookmark Category?”,”areyousuretodeletebookmark”:”Are you sure you want to delete this Bookmark?”,”bookmark_failed”:”Failed to Bookmark”,”bookmark_removed”:”Bookmark Removed”,”bookmark_removed_empty”:”All Bookmarks Removed”,”bookmark_removed_failed”:”Bookmark Removed Failed”,”error_msg”:”Error loading data. Response code = “,”category_name_empty”:”Category name can not be empty”,”add_to_head_default”:”Click Category to Bookmark”,”add_to_head_cat_list”:”Click to Edit Category”,”add_to_head_cat_edit”:”Edit Category”,”add_to_head_cat_create”:”Create Category”,”no_cats_found”:”No category found”,”add_to_head_max_cat”:”Maximum category limit reached”,”max_cat_limit”:”0″,”max_cat_limit_error”:”Sorry, you reached the maximum category limit and to create one one, please delete unnecessary categories first”,”user_current_cat_count”:”0″,”user_current_cats”:””,”user_can_create_cat”:”1″,”bookmark_mode”:”no_cat”,”bookmark_not_found”:”No bookmarks found”,”load_more”:”Load More …”,”category_default_status”:”0″,”delete_all_bookmarks_by_user_confirm”:”Are you sure to delete all of your bookmarks? This process can not be undone.”,”awn_options”:{“tip”:”Tip”,”info”:”Info”,”success”:”Success”,”warning”:”Attention”,”alert”:”Error”,”async”:”Loading”,”confirm”:”Confirmation”,”confirmOk”:”OK”,”confirmCancel”:”Cancel”},”shareurl_html”:”u003Cdiv class=”shareurl_modal”u003Eu003Ch3u003ECopy and Share Urlu003C/h3u003Eu003Cdiv class=”shareurl_copy”u003Eu003Cinput readonly class=”shareurl_copy_input” name=”shareurl_copy_input” type=”text” value=”##share_url##” /u003Eu003Cbutton data-url=”##share_url##” class=”shareurl_copy_btn”u003ECopyu003C/buttonu003Eu003C/divu003Eu003C/divu003E”,”shareurl_trans”:{“copy”:”Copy”,”copied”:”Copied”}}; //# sourceURL=cbxwpbookmarkpublicjs-js-extra var mailoptin_globals = {“public_js”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-content/plugins/mailoptin/src/core/src/assets/js/src”,”public_sound”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-content/plugins/mailoptin/src/core/src/assets/sound/”,”mailoptin_ajaxurl”:”/manufacturing-technology/amsilk-locks-in-dedicated-production-line-ajinomoto-foods-europe/?mailoptin-ajax=%%endpoint%%”,”is_customize_preview”:”false”,”disable_impression_tracking”:”false”,”sidebar”:”0″,”js_required_title”:”Title is required.”,”is_new_returning_visitors_cookies”:”true”}; //# sourceURL=mailoptin-js-extra var advanced_ads_layer_settings = {“layer_class”:”vegco-layer”,”placements”:[]}; //# sourceURL=advanced-ads-layer-footer-js-js-extra var generatepressMenu = {“toggleOpenedSubMenus”:true,”openSubMenuLabel”:”Open Submenu”,”closeSubMenuLabel”:”Close Submenu”}; //# sourceURL=generate-menu-js-before var generatepressNavSearch = {“open”:”Open Search Bar”,”close”:”Close Search Bar”}; //# sourceURL=generate-navigation-search-js-before var generatepressBackToTop = {“smooth”:true}; //# sourceURL=generate-back-to-top-js-before var advanced_ads_sticky_settings = {“check_position_fixed”:”0″,”sticky_class”:”vegco-sticky”,”placements”:[]}; //# sourceURL=advanced-ads-sticky-footer-js-js-extra var advadsTracking = {“impressionActionName”:”aatrack-records”,”clickActionName”:”aatrack-click”,”targetClass”:”vegco-target”,”blogId”:”3″,”frontendPrefix”:”vegco-“}; //# sourceURL=advadsTrackingScript-js-extra var complianz = {“prefix”:”cmplz_”,”user_banner_id”:”1″,”set_cookies”:[],”block_ajax_content”:”1″,”banner_version”:”242230″,”version”:”7.6.0″,”store_consent”:””,”do_not_track_enabled”:””,”consenttype”:”optin”,”region”:”eu”,”geoip”:”1″,”dismiss_timeout”:””,”disable_cookiebanner”:””,”soft_cookiewall”:”1″,”dismiss_on_scroll”:””,”cookie_expiry”:”365″,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-json/complianz/v1/”,”locale”:”lang=en&locale=en_GB”,”set_cookies_on_root”:”1″,”cookie_domain”:”vegconomist.com”,”current_policy_id”:”135″,”cookie_path”:”/”,”categories”:{“statistics”:”statistics”,”marketing”:”marketing”},”tcf_active”:””,”placeholdertext”:”Click to accept {category} cookies and enable this content”,”css_file”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/complianz/css/banner-{banner_id}-{type}.css?v=242230″,”page_links”:{“eu”:{“cookie-statement”:{“title”:”Cookie Policy “,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/cookie-policy-eu/”},”privacy-statement”:{“title”:”Privacy Policy”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/privacy-policy/”},”impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}},”us”:{“cookie-statement”:{“title”:”Cookie Policy “,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/cookie-policy-eu/”},”privacy-statement”:{“title”:”Privacy Policy”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/privacy-policy/”},”privacy-statement-children”:{“title”:””,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/gastronomy-food-service/food-service/caterer-sodexo-meat-free-sales/”},”impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}},”uk”:{“impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}},”ca”:{“impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}},”au”:{“impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}},”za”:{“impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}},”br”:{“impressum”:{“title”:”Imprint”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/imprint/”},”disclaimer”:{“title”:”Terms and Conditions”,”url”:”https://vegconomist.com/terms-and-conditions/”}}},”tm_categories”:”1″,”forceEnableStats”:””,”preview”:””,”clean_cookies”:””,”aria_label”:”Click to accept {category} cookies and enable this content”}; //# sourceURL=cmplz-cookiebanner-js-extra {“baseUrl”:”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72×72/”,”ext”:”.png”,”svgUrl”:”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/”,”svgExt”:”.svg”,”source”:{“concatemoji”:”https://vegconomist.com/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=ec39f8070572a4d7e2ccf6f163c6dc13″}} /*! This file is auto-generated */ const a=JSON.parse(document.getElementById(“wp-emoji-settings”).textContent),o=(window._wpemojiSettings=a,”wpEmojiSettingsSupports”),s=[“flag”,”emoji”];function i(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function c(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0);const a=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);return t.every((e,t)=>e===a[t])}function p(e,t){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var n=e.getImageData(16,16,1,1);for(let e=0;e{s[e]=t(o,e,n,a)}),s}function r(e){var t=document.createElement(“script”);t.src=e,t.defer=!0,document.head.appendChild(t)}a.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},new Promise(t=>{let n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if(“object”==typeof e&&”number”==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf(){i(n=e.data),r.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}i(n=f(s,u,c,p))}t(n)}).then(e=>{for(const n in e)a.supports[n]=e[n],a.supports.everything=a.supports.everything&&a.supports[n],”flag”!==n&&(a.supports.everythingExceptFlag=a.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&a.supports[n]);var t;a.supports.everythingExceptFlag=a.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!a.supports.flag,a.supports.everything||((t=a.source||{}).concatemoji?r(t.concatemoji):t.wpemoji&&t.twemoji&&(r(t.twemoji),r(t.wpemoji)))}); //# sourceURL=https://vegconomist.com/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-loader.min.js !function(){window.advanced_ads_ready_queue=window.advanced_ads_ready_queue||[],advanced_ads_ready_queue.push=window.advanced_ads_ready;for(var d=0,a=advanced_ads_ready_queue.length;d<a;d++)advanced_ads_ready(advanced_ads_ready_queue[d])}();
