No Palm, No Problem: Fermenting the Future of Fat

Palm oil is everywhere—from food to cosmetics to biofuels—but its production is a leading cause of deforestation, habitat destruction, and greenhouse gas emissions. What if we could have all the benefits of palm oil without the downsides? Enter NoPalm Ingredients, a Dutch biotech startup using fermentation to produce a sustainable alternative to palm oil—without the need for palm trees. Instead of chopping down rainforests, they’re upcycling agricultural waste, feeding it to their specialty yeast, and brewing a fat with the same characteristics as high-end palm oil in the process.  The company’s raised €6 million to date and has already done a trial run of its process in a massive 120,000-liter fermenter. In this episode, I’m joined by NoPalm’s CEO, Lars Langhout, to talk about how microbial oils can disrupt a $60 billion industry, whether fermentation is the future of fats, and the challenges of scaling a sustainable solution. Could NoPalm Ingredients make deforestation-free oils the new norm? If they have their way, perhaps so.  Discussed in this episode The fateful short 2020 article that inspired Lars to start NoPalm Ingredients.  Lars was also inspired by Bowery Farming CEO Irving Fain. Lars recommends reading The Hard Thing about Hard Things and Radical Candor Our past episodes with Lingrove (tree-free wood) and Abiom (wood-fed meat). Get to know Lars Langhout Lars Langhout is the co-founder and CEO of NoPalm Ingredients, a biotech pioneer company he established in 2021 alongside Prof. Dr. Jeroen Hugenholtz. Leveraging his background in strategy consulting and an MBA (CBS '16), Lars leads the team in developing sustainable, locally produced alternatives to palm oil. Under his leadership, NoPalm Ingredients has achieved significant milestones, including scaling their fermentation process from benchtop experiments to industrial-scale production of 120m3 within three years. This innovative approach transforms agri-food side streams into high-quality, food-grade palm-oil alternatives.