At NoPalm Ingredients, we aim to produce the first-ever sustainable, circular, cost-competitive, and locally-produced alternative to palm oil (and other vegetable oils). Our unique, fermentation-based bioprocessing technology platform that can turn agri-food waste streams into fermented oils & fats is instrumental to this effort. Palm oil is found in 50% of all supermarket goods and 70% of all personal care products. With the increasing global population, the global palm oil demand is expected to triple to 240 Mt by 2050. However, palm oil production is responsible for 1.5% of global GHG emissions and 2.3% of global deforestation. Due to this, the European Deforestation-Free Regulation now obliges (FMCG) companies to use sustainably produced (RSPO-certified) palm oil. Yet only ~17% of palm oil produced today is RSPO-certified. This percentage will decrease further by 10-40%, due to climate change-induced oil palm plantation yield losses. Our fermentation-based technology enables us to produce tailor-made oils/fats that can directly replace palm oil in food, personal care, cleaning, and cosmetics products. Uniquely, we use agri-food waste streams in our process as feedstock and we have 2-3x higher overall process efficiency compared to the state-of-the-art. Compared to palm oil production, our technology has 93.5% less CO2 footprint and reduces land use by 99.9%. Over the last decade, imported palm oil use constituted ~30% of all vegetable oil consumption in the EU. Our technology will provide the capacity to locally produce fermented oils that can directly replace palm oil imports and become a critical tool for ensuring food sovereignty for Europe. Our team of 18 is led by Lars Langhout (CEO), with 12+ years of experience in strategy consulting and innovation management, and Prof. Jeroen Hugenholtz (CTO), a renowned microbiologist and fermentation expert with 40+ years of fermentation experience.

ICO2NIC will couple developments in polymer membrane-based CO2 capture technology with a novel Gas Diffusion electrochemical cell for CO2 to formic acid conversion. Valorisation of formic acid via innovative biological processing routes will deliver high value products and materials. By making CCU (carbon capture and utilization) profitable, the ICO2NIC approach will enable global emitters to capture and valorise waste CO2, paving the way for a significant reduction in global emissions. The ICO2NIC consortium will form a complete value chain, from CO2 emitter (TUPRAS), to end users (TUPRAS, P&G), inclusive of carbon capture and purification (CPT), electrochemical conversion (AVT), and downstream processing (B.Fab, NPI). This industrial representation will enable validation of an integrated business model that has the potential to deliver a viable economic model for all parties (without external financial aid). Leading RTOs will support the integration of RES through digital monitoring and control systems (IDE), and confirm the cost efficiency, environmental performance and scalability of the proposed concept through development of a robust TEA and process design (SINTEF) and LCA (TNO); paving the way for capture of 6.45 Mt of CO2 from TUPRAS’ refineries by 2040, and up to 75 Mtpa CO2 in the EU refinery sector in the long term.