NoPalm Ingredients and the EIC Accelerator: Palm Oil From Whey

NoPalm Ingredients, founded in Wageningen in 2021 by chief executive Lars Langhout and Professor Jeroen Hugenholtz, grows non-GMO oil-producing yeasts on agri-food side streams such as whey permeate and potato peels to make fats that it says can replace palm and other tropical oils without reformulating recipes. Its EIC Accelerator project receives an EU contribution of €2,499,999 and ran from April 2024 to March 2026, according to CORDIS. The goal was to demonstrate scalability: a robust process on one feedstock, maintained performance at industrial scale, and customer application trials confirming price parity with existing oils.

In the first year, the report says, NoPalm narrowed its focus with its main investors to a single process, turning a dairy side stream into a semi-solid fat, made the process robust against variations in milk-based feedstock, scaled it to 400 litres in-house and 5,000 litres at an external facility "while still maintaining the required productivity", and made its "first 100,000+L production attempt", according to CORDIS. In September 2025 the Belgian dairy cooperative Milcobel agreed to supply whey permeate to NoPalm's first demonstration facility in the Netherlands, "set to start operations in 2026", and to study a commercial plant at its Langemark site, targeted for 2028, according to NoPalm Ingredients.

Where NoPalm Stands Now

NoPalm's demonstration factory is at NIZO's Food Innovation Campus in Ede. In September 2025 the company said production there would begin in the second half of 2026, rising over time to about 1,200 tonnes of oil a year, and that it was raising a Series A to build and run it, "complemented by grant funding and partner contributions", according to AgFunderNews. No Series A close or start of production has been announced. Its Dutch accounts were not accessible in free sources.

The Technology: Yeast That Stores Fat

Oil-producing yeasts "have been documented for decades", Hugenholtz writes. NoPalm feeds them cheap side streams and uses what it calls low-capex equipment, which Hugenholtz argues decides whether fermented fats can compete on price, according to NoPalm Ingredients. The oil is extracted from the yeast biomass; the EIC work used the first large batches to select drying and extraction equipment for the demo factory. The company claims 90% lower CO₂ emissions and 99% less land use than palm oil.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project has ended; the public report covers only its first year. Scale-up to industrial volumes is documented. Price parity is asserted by the company, based on customer feedback, but no figures are public, and no named customers have announced commercial purchases. The demo factory that would supply them was not producing when the project ended.

1. Robust process on one feedstockDeliveredDairy side stream.
2. Industrial-scale performanceShown5,000 L, 100,000+ L.
3. Price parity confirmedUnverifiedCompany claim.
4. Customers establishedTrialsNone named publicly.

The Money

NoPalm's €5 million seed round in July 2024 was led by Rubio Impact Ventures, co-led by Oost NL, Fairtree Elevant Ventures and Willow Capital Investments, with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, according to NoPalm Ingredients. The award was blended finance; no EIC Fund investment has been announced.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

NoPalm pitches its fat as a local alternative to imported palm oil, which the EU deforestation regulation now covers, and has published its own commentary on that rule. By its CTO's own account, matching palm oil's price is the hardest part.

The Verdict

NoPalm Ingredients and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.