Biostart sets up shop at EPFL Innovation Park to combat micropollutants in water

Faced with invisible but worrying pollution, French start-up Biostart is developing innovative water purification technology and has chosen Western Switzerland to accelerate its R&D.

According to several scientific and institutional reports, a quarter of Europe’s groundwater is now seriously polluted. Organic micropollutants, drug residues, pesticides, and heavy metals: these substances, invisible to the naked eye, pose a growing risk to human health and ecosystems. In response, Biostart, a company founded in France by a team of experts in green chemistry and water treatment, has developed a patented bio-based technology using plant-derived cyclodextrins. Their solution, which is more effective and economical than current technologies, is aimed at wastewater treatment plants, industrial companies, and local authorities.

In order to strengthen its applied research capabilities, Biostart opened a Swiss subsidiary at the EPFL Innovation Park in 2025, with support from Innosuisse. This strategic location enables it to collaborate closely with local academic and industrial partners, including EPFL and Dolder in Basel. The project aims to develop new continuous filtration solutions, with a particular focus on replacing activated carbon, which is still widely used despite its limitations.

Initial tests carried out in the Lake Geneva region have already shown promising results. Thanks to its process based on cyclodextrin polycondensates, Biostart targets a wide range of pollutants, from endocrine disruptors to heavy metals, pesticides and PFAS. The polymers used can be regenerated up to five times, which also makes it possible to recover certain metals, reducing both costs and environmental impact.

The company, which has been supported since its inception by the Genopole biocluster and certified by players such as Veolia, the Solar Impulse Foundation and the French Ministry of the Environment, now aims to establish a long-term presence in the Swiss market. Like the rest of Europe, Switzerland is facing increasingly stringent regulatory challenges, which represent a major opportunity for the deployment of innovative water treatment technologies.

Biostart has benefited from the support of Greater Geneva Bern Area (GGBa), Innovaud and the French-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFS), which facilitated its establishment in Lausanne and its connections with key players in the Western Switzerland ecosystem.