Project
Scaling up the production of a local and circular palm oil alternative – NIRAS and NoPalm Ingredients
NoPalm Ingredients is a pioneering biotech startup, founded in 2021 with a mission to create a green parallel oil and fat industry by producing local, circular and sustainable alternatives to palm and other tropical oils.
February 20, 2025
- SECTORS: Food & Beverage
- COUNTRIES: The Netherlands
- CLIENT: NoPalm Ingredients
- DURATION: 2025
By valorizing agri-food side streams through fermentation, NoPalm Ingredients develops yeast derived oils and fats, that can be tailored and used in a wide range of food, personal care and pet food products. Providing a sustainable alternative while enabling decarbonization of the value chain by 90% and requiring 99% less land.
To transition from pilot to demo-commercial scale production, NoPalm Ingredients sought the expertise of NIRAS to design a scalable bioreactor system.
Rise to the challenge
The primary challenge was to develop a conceptual design for a bioreactor that could efficiently produce sustainable oil and fats alternatives to optimal operational and capital expenditure (OpEx and CapEx). The project began with an initial workshop, facilitated by NIRAS, where several low-cost options were evaluated. This approach ensured that all potential solutions were thoroughly considered.
NIRAS applied its expertise in bioreactor design, particularly to produce alternative proteins and brewing, to meet the requirements and tackle the primary challenge. As a result of the workshop, NIRAS developed, together with the NoPalm Ingredients team, a process flow diagram (PFD), mass and energy balance, basis of design, and a CapEx estimate for the selected bioreactor. These deliverables provided NoPalm Ingredients with evidence that the technology could meet their production goals efficiently and cost-effectively.
The base for scaling up
The conceptual design provided by NIRAS has enabled NoPalm Ingredients to confidently move forward with scaling their production process and work towards their goal of reducing waste, land-use and carbon emissions in the oil and fat industry.
You can read more about NoPalm Ingredients here: NoPalm Ingredients
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