Milcobel and NoPalm Ingredients partner to valorise dairy waste into sustainable ingredients

NoPalm Ingredients, a biotech pioneer producing sustainable palm oil alternatives through fermentation, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Milcobel, a leading Belgian dairy cooperative, aimed at scaling the production of circular, sustainable alternatives to palm oil.

Through a strategic alliance, Milcobel is able to get feedstock for NoPalm Ingredients’ demonstration factory and further valorise its whey permeate.

The demo facility is expected to begin operations in 2026, building on NoPalm Ingredients’ statement from September 2, 2025. Simultaneously, both businesses will investigate the viability of using Milcobel’s Langemark location for NoPalm Ingredients’ first commercial manufacturing facility, which is anticipated to open in 2028.

The agreement covers two critical pillars:

• A supply agreement for Milcobel’s whey permeate, a cheese byproduct, securing feedstock for NoPalm Ingredients’ demonstration factory in the Netherlands, (starting operations in 2026).
• A joint feasibility study for establishing NoPalm Ingredients’ first commercial factory at Milcobel’s Langemark site, with potential operations by 2028.

Foodtech startup NoPalm Ingredients has developed a fermentation technology that produces oils and fats identical to conventional palm and other tropical oils, without using any palm-derived raw materials. Instead, the process uses agro-industrial side streams, such as whey permeate. This innovative approach is both circular and low emission, offering a viable alternative to palm oil, which is widely used in consumer products, but often linked to deforestation and environmental degradation.

Industrial trials over the past two years have demonstrated the feasibility of using whey permeate as a feedstock for NoPalm Ingredients’ fermentation process. The technology consistently produced oils on specification at industrial scale, confirming compatibility with Milcobel’s streams.

“At Milcobel, our mission is to create the highest possible value for our cooperative members,” said Francis Relaes, managing director Milcobel Premium Ingredients. “More than 25 years ago, we made a strategic choice to focus on mozzarella. In 2022, our partnership with Arla Foods Ingredients to valorise whey protein retentate was a further reinforcement of our strategy and a significant step up in the valorisation of our whey permeate sidestream. This new collaboration with NoPalm Ingredients completes the loop: it brings the valorisation of whey permeate higher up the value chain, turning it into sustainable, high-value oil ingredients for food and non-food. It not only strengthens our economic model but also reinforces our commitment to circularity principles and better impact for the planet.”

Both companies will further explore the operational feasibility of co-locating a NoPalm Ingredients factory at Milcobel’s Langemark site, including integration with existing infrastructure. By building factories adjacent to food production facilities and using local side streams, NoPalm Ingredients aims to drastically reduce emissions, land use, and waste, while bringing new economic value to existing infrastructure.

“This partnership proves the strength of our co-location model: turning side streams into high-value ingredients where they are generated, reducing transport and sharing infrastructure” said Lars Langhout, CEO of NoPalm Ingredients. “Working with Milcobel shows how a biotech startup and a dairy leader can create true circularity with economic and environmental value on both sides.”

Together, NoPalm Ingredients and Milcobel are showing how biotech and dairy can join forces to create high-value, sustainable ingredients at scale, building a food system that is resilient, circular, and future-proof.