Evonik has broken ground on a biotechnology expansion at its Fermas site in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia, as part of an approximately €80 million ($93 million) investment to expand its contract manufacturing capabilities for pharmaceutical drug substances.

The project is expected to be completed in early 2028 and will add downstream fermentation technology to increase capacity for developing and manufacturing complex pharmaceutical intermediates. The expansion is expected to create about 50 jobs.

The investment builds on Evonik’s precision fermentation capabilities at the site and will strengthen its contract development and manufacturing organization services for pharmaceutical customers.

Evonik said the Fermas site operates on 100% green electricity and uses renewable and certified raw materials in selected production processes. The company said fermentation-based manufacturing can reduce the use of organic solvents and process-related waste for selected intermediates compared with conventional chemical synthesis.

The Slovenská Ľupča site has more than three decades of fermentation experience and serves the pharmaceutical, personal care, nutrition and specialty chemical industries. Evonik has expanded the site’s biotechnology capabilities in recent years, including the development of an industrial-scale rhamnolipid biosurfactant production facility.

In a previous announcement, Evonik said the expansion would address demand for pharmaceutical ingredients and represent the second major investment at the Slovakian site in recent years.

The company also commissioned a dedicated manufacturing line at the site in 2025 for precision-fermented silk proteins produced for biomaterials company AMSilk.

“This investment demonstrates the company’s confidence in biotechnology and in Slovakia as a location where innovation turns into industrial-scale products,” Miroslav Havlik, general manager of Evonik Fermas, said in a statement.

Why it Matters

The project adds pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity to a site that Evonik has increasingly developed as a biotechnology production hub. The company has used the Slovenská Ľupča facility for commercial-scale fermentation of rhamnolipids and for dedicated production of precision-fermented biomaterials, while the new project expands its capabilities for pharmaceutical intermediates.

The expansion also follows Evonik’s broader investment in biotechnology-based drug manufacturing. In August, the company announced plans for a more than C$150 million GMP facility for lipid-based drug delivery systems in Vancouver, with drug product production expected to begin in 2029.