Project description
Innovative technology for a palm oil sustainable alternative
Imported palm oil accounts for about 30 % of vegetable oil consumption in the EU. However, its production contributes 1.5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions and 2.3 % of deforestation. Under the European Deforestation-Free Regulation, companies are required to use RSPO-certified palm oil, of which only 17 % currently meets this standard. The EIC-funded NoPalm Oil project aims to create a sustainable and locally sourced alternative to palm oil and other vegetable oils. Using a fermentation-based bioprocessing technology, the project converts agri-food waste into fermented oils and fats. This enables local production of these oils, directly replacing palm oil imports, reducing CO2 emissions by 93.5 %, and decreasing land use by 99.9 %.
Objective
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.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture vegetable growing
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC-ACC - HORIZON EIC Accelerator
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-02
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6709PA WAGENINGEN
Netherlands
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.