With $3.1 million in funding from a group of investors and assistance from Breakthrough Energy’s esteemed Fellows Program, Singapore-based biotechnology company Terra Oleo announced Thursday that it has emerged from stealth.
According to a statement from the company, Terra Oleo is developing microbial technology as part of this extremely selective global initiative to develop sustainable substitutes for cocoa butter and palm oil derivatives used in food, cosmetics, personal care products, and pharmaceuticals.
It is mentioned that regulatory pressures, land scarcity, and climate instability are putting pressure on the supply chains for cocoa and palm oil.
In 2024, global palm oil exports fell 5.83 percent year over year due to increased demand and production constraints, while cocoa end-of-season stocks fell 26 percent and futures prices hit all-time highs.
Producers and consumer goods companies are in dire need of alternatives as a result of these pressures, which are increasing costs and causing supply volatility.
This need is satisfied by Terra Oleo’s technology, which transforms the production of lipid ingredients.
Using precision fermentation, Terra Oleo’s adjustable platform turns agro-industrial waste into sustainable palm oil components and cocoa butter substitutes.
Supported by extensive knowledge of synthetic biology and microbial engineering, the platform eliminates hazardous byproducts of traditional processes and energy-intensive refining steps to provide customized lipid profiles for high-value palm and cocoa applications.
By overcoming the limitations of natural microbes, this method outperforms other solutions in terms of unit economics and market adoption.
According to Terra Oleo, the company is in a unique position to provide scalable, high-performance alternatives because of its robust process economics and extensive market networks established alongside the traditional palm industry.
When fully implemented, its technology could remove up to 900 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year from supply chains for cocoa and palm oil, speeding up the decarbonization of the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries.
The business has already inked product testing contracts with a number of regional and international leaders in the fields of food, cosmetics, personal care, and oleochemicals.
Terra Oleo stated that it is getting ready to move from lab to market with products that match or exceed current standards, as validation is in progress and demand is increasing.
“We founded Terra Oleo to reinvent how we produce the fats and oils that power our everyday lives,
“With support from the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program and our incredible investors, we are deeply honored and excited to bring sustainable, scalable alternatives to market and collaborate with partners to decarbonize palm oil and cocoa,” said Shen Ming Lee, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Terra Oleo.
