Olesym · Palm-free fatty aldehydes, EU-made

The problem

A supply chain without a
viable alternative, until now

The home & personal care industry depends on palm- or petrochemical-derived chemicals. That dependency has become a compliance liability. EUDR enforcement, deforestation pressure and feedstock volatility are forcing every procurement director to find an alternative.

Environmental concerns

Current fatty chemicals supply chains are strongly associated with deforestation, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and high greenhouse-gas emissions.

Regulatory pressure

The EU Deforestation Regulation creates binding compliance obligations for palm-derived ingredients. Non-compliance is not an option for any company selling into european markets.

Supply chain risk

With around 65% of global fatty chemical raw materials imported from Southeast Asia, Europe remains exposed to supply disruptions, price volatility and a growing need for reliable & resilient local alternatives.

The cost of palm oil

420 Mha deforested
in three decades

The expansion of palm oil plantations has been one of the largest drivers of tropical deforestation over the past three decades. Forests that took millennia to form have been cleared in months to meet the demand for cheap vegetable-derived ingredients. The environmental cost is structural, not incidental. The regulatory response is already here.

3-5 ton CO₂ emitted
per ton product

Current fatty chemicals have a higher carbon footprint than some of the most environmentally concerning fossil fuels, significantly contributing to global warming.

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Before After

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Source: European Central Bank, Economic Bulletin 2024.

Structurally stressed supply
& regulatory tailwind

Source: European Commission, EU Deforestation Regulation.

Source: IndexMundi, Commodity Prices.

Our solution

Olesym doesn't change
the ingredient
It changes its origin

A new european industrial route that removes the biological and geopolitical dependencies behind every competing solution. The process is thermocatalytic and cost-competitive, designed for global scale from the start.

Cost-competitive & scalable

A proprietary one-step thermocatalytic process that converts syngas into fatty chemicals, with lower production costs than current biotech alternatives. Designed to be scalable and robust from day one.

100% deforestation-free & EUDR compliant

Fatty chemicals produced from renewable, domestic EU biomass residues (bio-syngas) or from CO₂ recycling (e-syngas).

EU-ready raw materials

Our raw materials are residual feedstocks: 100% domestic EU resources with 50-times greater availability than current palm oil imports.

Lower carbon footprint

Predicted carbon footprint reduction of up to 75% and 90% through Olesym bio-syngas and e-syngas routes, respectively.

Animal-free, microbe-free and GMO-free

Our ingredients are produced without animals, algae, yeast, insects, microbial fermentation or genetic engineering.

The molecule

Two parts
One powerful ingredient

Fatty chemical ingredients are molecules built from two structural elements: a functional head and a hydrophobic “fatty” tail. Both the identity of the head as well as the length of the tail determine the ingredient’s functional properties. Olesym controls both.

Functional head: the performance engine

Controls the ingredient's functionality, enabling a wide range of properties including cleaning, conditioning, emulsification, fragrance, preservation, etc.

Fatty tail: the performance carrier

Controls how the ingredient behaves in the formulation influencing hydrophobicity, deposition, persistence, sensory profile and overall efficacy.

One supply problem solved
Various ingredient families

Olesym produces various types of EU-made, EUDR-compliant, deforestation-free, sustainable and vegan fatty chemicals ready for qualification. These ingredients are building blocks of modern household, textile and personal care product formulations.

Fatty aldehydes & acetals

Fresh, citrus, green and floral notes. Used to deliver brightness, freshness and diffusion in formulations where olfactory performance across rinse-off and leave-on applications is valued.

Request a sample →

Fatty alcohols
& sulfates

High-performance surfactants for detergents and cleaning formulations, delivering effective foaming and cleansing.

Fatty amines
& quats

Conditioning agents for personal-care and textile-care formulations, delivering softness, manageability and antistatic performance across rinse-off and leave-on applications.

Fatty amides

Functional additives for personal-care, home-care and industrial formulations, providing viscosity control, foam stabilization and conditioning performance.

Drop-in ingredients

Direct replacement for current ingredients derived from palm oil or petroleum.

EU-made

Produced in Spain from European-sourced, deforestation-free biomass inputs. Full origin traceability from feedstock to finished product.

Qualify now

Product samples available upon request for qualification. Get in touch today to arrange a test.

Palm-free guarantee

Supply assurance Every batch is traceable to its origin. No tropical feedstock enters the process at any stage. Full documentation for EUDR compliance files from day one.

EUDR-ready Produced in Spain from european-sourced, deforestation-free biomass inputs. Full origin traceability from feedstock to finished product.

Traction and stage

Real technology
Real progress

Olesym is at TRL 4, with the technology validated at laboratory scale and a costed roadmap to pilot and industrial deployment. The technology is not a concept. The milestones are not projections.

Support from the European Commission's excellence programs

Emerged from 2 excellence research programs of the European Research Council (ERC-CoG & ERC-PoC).

Technology validated at lab scale

One-step thermocatalytic conversion of syngas to fatty chemicals validated at laboratory scale.

IP position established

3 patent families, 1 trade secret & 10 years know-how protecting Olesym core technology.

Pilot plant, next milestone

Raising to fund transition to pilot validation.

100%

Renewable, EUDR-compliant, deforestation-free products.

Dependence on carbon raw materials from outside the EU (vegetable oils or petrochemicals).

TRL4

Technology ready for up-scale to pilot operation & go-to-market.

4-10 times

Lower carbon footprint than today's oleochemical and petrochemical fatty ingredients.

Team

Built by people who know the chemistry, the industry and the market

Olesym is the result of more than a decade of EU-excellence research at one of the leading chemistry institutes, paired with operational experience scaling deep tech across European markets.

Olesym founding team — Gonzalo, Ilaria and Joost

Joost Korver

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Twenty years of commercial operations in energy and sustainability across european and international markets. Previously helped grow two deep tech companies through Series A.

Ilaria Ceteroni

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Chemical engineer and researcher at ITQ (UPV-CSIC), co-inventor of the core technology behind Olesym. International R&D track record across Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Gonzalo Prieto

Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)

PhD chemical engineer with 20+ years of R&D experience at ITQ, Utrecht University and Max Planck Society. Principal Investigator on seven european projects, including two ERC grants. Inventor of 15 patents, eight already licensed to industry.

Iker Marcaide

Board Member

Impact entrepreneur and investor. Founder of Flywire (NASDAQ-listed, multi-billion dollar company), Executive Chairman of Zubi Group and CEO of Matteco. MBA and Master in Science from MIT Sloan.

Pol Hortal

Advisor

Driven by a passion for technology and innovation, and fueled by curiosity, actively supports groundbreaking scientific discoveries across Europe, helping turn them into successful, high-impact ventures.

Strategic backing

Spun out of ITQ (CSIC-UPV)

ITQ Institute for Chemical Technology, one of Europe's leading R&D institutes in catalytic chemistry.

Backed by Zubi Labs

Olesym is a Zubi Labs initiative, the venture builder of Zubi Group, created to co-found and scale deep tech companies tackling Europe's structural industrial challenges.

Emerged from excellence EU R&D&i

Technology supported by 2 excellence ERC grants of the European Research Council (TANDEng, CO2Chains).

Project distinctions

EBTON-Converge Award 2025

Best entrepreneurial project emerging from the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) nationwide.

SPIN-UPV 2025

Best entrepreneurial project emerging at the Innovation competition of the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Santander X Award 2026

To the best incipient entrepreneurial projects in Spain.

Fatty chemicals built from renewable
and EU resilient feedstocks.
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The everyday ingredients
of modern life

A supply chain without a
viable alternative, until now

420 Mha deforested
in three decades

3-5 ton CO₂ emitted
per ton product

Structurally stressed supply
& regulatory tailwind