Fibenol has partnered with emerging biotech startup ÄIO to create a reliable alternative to traditionally produced fats and vegetable oils. Using ÄIO’s technology, Fibenol’s wood sugars are converted into oils and fatty acids, well suited as functional food, feed, and cosmetics ingredients.
With the integration of ÄIO’s advanced technology, Fibenol can now efficiently convert its C5 sugars into high-value nutrient-rich foods. Moreover, these converted sugars offer promising alternative constituents for the oleochemical industry.
Karl Peebo, the project manager at Fibenol, expressed enthusiasm about the potential impact: “As the food sector significantly contributes to global emissions, our low CO2 footprint separation technology present a tremendous opportunity. We anticipate a growing range of applications for cellulosic sugars in the food industry in the future.”
Petri-Jaan Lahtvee, the co-founder of ÄIO, emphasized the significance of this pilot-scale collaboration with Fibenol: “This is an important milestone for ÄIO, showing that our biotech process is robust and can thrive under industry-like conditions. We are now poised to advance the accessibility of alternative fats and oils for the food and cosmetics industries.”
With the global demand for plant-based foods soaring, these novel ingredients possess immense potential to replace animal fats and palm oil while ensuring local food security. ÄIO researchers have estimated that adopting biotech processes to obtain new and alternative fats and oils could mitigate 100 million tons of CO2 emissions, assuming ÄIO’s technology replaces approximately 30% of current palm oil usage.
