Mibelle Group unveils sustainable palm oil alternative from captured CO2

Mibelle Group, LanzaTech, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have co-developed a CO2-derived ingredient that can replace palm oil in cosmetics and other everyday products.  

The method uses a two-stage fermentation process to convert the greenhouse gas (GHG) into a fat blend with the same characteristics as palm oil.  

“Until now, alternative production methods for raw materials have been based primarily on fermentation processes using sugar as the starting material. However, sugar has to be cultivated and requires land, and sugar cane is located in rainforest areas,” Susanne Heldmaier, strategic lead of basic research and technical innovation at Mibelle Group, tells Personal Care Insights. 

“What makes our ingredient special is that it is produced from the GHG CO2 and requires no land, very little water, and very little energy for its production. We have succeeded in producing a particularly high-quality and nourishing fat blend.”

Behind the ingredient

Mibelle shares that the new ingredient makes the skin feel noticeably better and helps to protect the skin barrier.

The palm oil-free fat blend has a similar composition to palm oil and therefore offers a wide range of possible uses in the future. 

The palm oil-free fat blend has a similar composition to palm oil.“What makes it special for direct use in cosmetic products is its significantly higher content of unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid, than palm oil. It has the potential to be used in many personal care products, where it provides outstanding protection for the skin without the need to cultivate oil plants for its production,” says Heldmaier.

Further explaining the technology behind it, she says the process consists of two consecutive fermentation steps. 

“In the first step, CO2, which would normally be released into the atmosphere, is converted into alcohol. It is done using a special gas fermentation process developed by LanzaTech. It is somewhat similar to brewing beer, except that we use CO2 as the raw material instead of grain,” she says.

In the second step, the alcohol is converted into fat by special oil yeasts. “This process was developed by Fraunhofer IGB, and we only use natural, non-genetically modified microorganisms.”

The process produces a sustainable fat mirroring palm oil’s composition and properties.

Regulatory changes

The EU Deforestation Regulation will be implemented starting in December 2025. It will impact natural ingredients’ supply chains and ban the import or sale of products linked to recent deforestation. It will also guide the industry by indirectly supporting agroforestry using regenerative agriculture for raw materials.

It also pushes beauty companies to reformulate their products and ingredient development to use alternatives such as lab-grown equivalents or agricultural byproducts. 

Heldmaier says sustainable cultivation alone cannot meet the growing demand for fats in the long term.“The new regulation aims to ensure no further rainforests are destroyed for growing palm oil. Ever larger areas of our rainforests are being cleared for palm oil cultivation, threatening many animal and plant species. This process also releases large amounts of stored CO2 into the atmosphere,” says Heldmaier.

She explains that the cosmetics industry has been aware of this problem for some time. It has responded by sourcing palm oil primarily from certified cultivation, ensuring that the raw material comes from sustainably managed sources. 

“However, sustainable cultivation alone cannot meet our ever-growing demand for fats long-term due to the growing world population. Innovative solutions are urgently needed for the future.”

Heldmaier says the company has been working for some time to find new technologies to produce alternatives to palm oil. 

“We are convinced that the technology for producing a palm oil substitute fat from CO2 using bio-fermentation can significantly contribute to complying with the new regulation,” she notes.