McDermott has been selected to work on a pioneering project for the production of Rhamnolipids—an advanced technology with the potential to fundamentally transform cleaning products and significantly reduce their environmental impact.

Rhamnolipids are a type of biosurfactant made via fermentation. It is used as a component of cleaning products and has exceptional foam-forming properties and high-performance results—all with the environmental benefits of being entirely based on natural sugars and being one hundred percent biodegradable.

“Rhamnolipids significantly advance the growing biosurfactant market. The process uses bacteria to produce the surfactants, the primary ingredient for creating foam within soaps and detergents,” said Tareq Kawash, Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We are committed to working with our customers to develop sustainable solutions. Our experience in biotechnological processes and the scale of our operations make us the strategic partner capable of turning this naturally occurring process into a renewable ingredient.”

The scope of the contract is for the provision of engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services in order to support the customer to build a plant for the manufacture of Rhamnolipids.

The award contributes to the growing portfolio of projects in the energy transition market for McDermott. The engineering and procurement services will be executed from McDermott’s office in Brno, Czech Republic, and the construction management will be performed at the customer’s site in Slovakia.