Olesym Targets Palm-Free, Petrochemical-Free Fatty Chemicals via Syngas, Still at Laboratory Scale
Zubi Labs, the venture builder of Zubi Group, is backing Olesym, a new deeptech company developing a technology to make ingredients for detergents and cosmetics without palm oil or petroleum, from Europe. The company says it relies on sustainable feedstocks that are widely available in the region.
Olesym's molecules belong to the fatty chemicals family. These ingredients are used in personal care, home care and textile formulations, where they provide detergency, softness, conditioning, emulsification, texture, antistatic properties and olfactory performance. Many are currently made from palm oil or imported petrochemical raw materials, a dependence the company links to price volatility, possible supply interruptions, new traceability requirements and deforestation-related impacts.
The company has developed a one-step thermocatalytic process that converts renewable carbon sources into these ingredients. The feedstock is syngas, which can come from two routes: bio-syngas, made from biomass residues, or e-syngas, made by combining recycled CO2 with renewable hydrogen. Olesym prioritises bio-syngas for its greater technological maturity. The process uses no microorganisms and no biotechnological routes.
Olesym says its ingredients are designed as drop-in replacements, keeping the same molecular structure and function. It estimates the routes could cut the carbon footprint by up to 75% for biomass and up to 90% through CO2 recycling, against current routes. The company acknowledges these projections must be confirmed as the technology moves towards industrial validation.
The technology comes from more than a decade of research at the Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ), a joint centre of the CSIC and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), supported by two European Research Council programmes. The process has been validated at laboratory scale. It is covered by three patent families held by the CSIC and the UPV, with the Max Planck Society participating in one, plus a trade secret.
Joost Korver joins as CEO and cofounder. Ilaria Ceteroni is CTO and is responsible for scale-up and the transition to a pilot plant. Gonzalo Prieto is CSO. Iker Marcaide of Zubi Group sits on the board.
A pilot stage still to be crossed
The scale language matters here. Laboratory validation is the earliest rung of the commercialisation ladder, and the move to pilot plant is the step that Olesym's CTO is now leading. Nothing in the announcement suggests ingredients are available to buy. Buyers should treat this as a pipeline item, not a sourcing option.
The carbon figures are the company's own estimates, and the company itself says they need confirmation. Comparisons with current routes will only be meaningful once pilot data exist.
What it could mean for each reader
For formulators, the drop-in claim is the most consequential. If molecular structure and function are truly unchanged, qualification could proceed without major reformulation. That remains a claim to test against samples and specifications.
For procurement and compliance teams, the pitch is European production with traceability from feedstock to finished product. It is aimed at buyers exposed to palm derivatives and imported petrochemicals. Whether a syngas-based route changes that exposure in practice will depend on feedstock contracts and volumes, neither of which has been disclosed.
For suppliers of conventional oleochemicals, a non-biotech catalytic route is a different competitive profile from fermentation-based entrants. The company argues it can approach the process yields of conventional production. That is untested at scale.
For investors, the picture is early. Funding amounts, round details and offtake agreements have not been disclosed. What the record shows is institutional backing, patents held by public research bodies, three awards and a venture-builder sponsor. Terms for licensing or access to the underlying patents will be worth watching.
The next signal to follow is evidence from the pilot-plant transition: yields, product specifications and how bio-syngas supply is secured at larger volumes. Until then, the development is best read as a credible research-to-company transfer rather than a market-ready supply change.