Bill Gates-Led Fund Invests in Synthetic Palm Oil Startup

by Akshat Rathi (Bloomberg Green) C16 Biosciences uses yeast to convert food waste and industrial byproducts into a sustainable alternative. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, helmed by Bill Gates, is leading an investment round of $20 million for C16 Biosciences, a New York-based startup, which is working on making sustainable alternatives for palm oil.

The three-year-old startup uses microbes to convert food waste and industrial byproducts into synthetic palm oil, which it claims can replace the plant-derived version. The investment will be used to grow the team and scale up the technology. It’s one of a growing number of startups working on developing alternatives.

Interest in alternatives to palm oil is growing as curbing its environmental impact becomes more critical.

C16 uses a proprietary yeast which it feeds with carbon-containing waste. This could include excess food from supermarkets and homes or glycerol from biofuels production. The startup can make about 10 kg of its synthetic palm oil each week, which it plans to ramp up to 1,000 kilograms using the money invested. This would allow it to supply large businesses, starting with cosmetics companies and then the food industry.

The use of waste ensures raw materials are cheap and lowers the environmental impact, said Shara Ticku, C16's chief executive. It gives the synthetic alternative a chance to be priced as low, if not cheaper than, the natural version.

Other companies are following suit. California-based startup Kiverdi Inc. is using microbes to convert carbon dioxide into an alternative to palm oil. Scottish startup Revive Eco is extracting useful oils from coffee waste and Indonesian startup Biteback is finding those oils in insects.

There’s no guarantee that it will work. The University of Bath is studying the development of palm oil alternatives and it’s expected to conclude that current technology isn't economic on a commercial scale. The highest expense is extracting the palm oil once the microbes have made the synthetic version, said David Leak, a professor in the university's biology and biochemistry department. Without overcoming those hurdles, palm oil alternatives might remain a niche product. READ MORE