Philipp Arbter graduated from high school in Krefeld (North Rhine-Westphalia) in 2008, completed his community service and then moved to Berlin, where he first studied biology for a semester: “But that wasn’t really my thing, because I didn’t like the technical component,” he says. So he switched to biotechnology. For his Bachelor’s degree, he went to the Berlin University of Applied Sciences. In the course of his Bachelor’s thesis, which he then completed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (USA), Philipp Arbter had his first encounter with lipid production using yeasts. The topic continued to fascinate him and he went on to complete his degree in bioprocess engineering at the Technical University of Munich. Philipp eventually moved to Hamburg to the Institute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering at Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg): “In my doctoral thesis, which I have since defended, I looked at how biotechnological processes that use cells or enzymes that produce special chemical compounds can be coupled with electrochemical processes. The idea is that many of these processes have the potential to become more effective and sustainable as a result. Among other things, I have also investigated the influence of electricity on oil production by yeasts.”

Unparalleled technological approach

After his doctoral thesis, Philipp was surprised that the approach of producing oils using yeasts had not yet caught on in industry and business: “Because it was probably difficult to scale up the biotechnological production of the oil in large quantities and this requires large sums of capital for production facilities. But if it works, it’s very promising: then we just have to solve a lot of problems,” thought Philipp and got stuck into the topic with his team. The first successes came and Philipp was surprised that the majority of potential customers were unaware of their technological approach, even though it had a certain relevance and scope: “Europe imports up to seven million tons of palm oil every year. It is used here as fuel, for example, and is contained in every second product in the supermarket. The cosmetics companies were not aware that yeasts can be used to produce oils that are very similar to fatty acids or vegetable oils. I thought they had already done their homework, tried out the possibilities in all directions and I, as a fresh PhD student, couldn’t tell them anything new,” he says, surprised.

Time to start up

The moment inspired him and the timing seemed right for a start-up, because he had enough time and was also “keen on the subject”: “These are the best prerequisites for such a venture: If I had already been working in a company for ten years, I would probably have been less ambitious in this respect. But I’m still young and therefore at the right age for something like this,” says Philipp: “I had the idea, saw the technology and wanted to implement it: there’s a good funding landscape in Germany for this.”

Philipp is convinced that there is certainly a lot of similar potential out there that needs to be identified. He advises those interested in setting up their own business today: “There are many opportunities as a post-doctoral student. Of course, it always depends on your own situation. One option is to approach companies with your idea and evaluate whether it could work there. Trial makes perfect.”

The idea: A CO2-neutral alternative through fermentation

In the discovered process, the sustainable oil is produced through fermentation. Yeasts are used for this, which utilize sugar from industrial and agricultural waste products, such as molasses or other biomasses, and thus keep their metabolism running. After nitrogen and phosphates in particular have been used up, growth stops and lipids are formed with the remaining surplus of carbon. These lipids can then be isolated and, depending on the type of yeast, are very similar to many vegetable oils. Normally, CO2 is produced during fermentation. But here too, the team has found a climate-friendly solution, which they have just patented. “Initially, I had to see what was economically feasible. It wasn’t so much the technology that was limiting: I looked at what could be produced in this way and what people would then buy,” says Philipp.

The “green” oil can be used to imitate palm oil or cocoa butter, but also to develop completely new oils without a natural model. “The diversity of the oils is also reflected in their application in creams, soaps or chocolates. In other words, everywhere where vegetable oils are also used today,” explains Max Webers, he is the COLIPI project manager.

Additional expertise

“I met Max Weber during my Bachelor’s degree at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences,” says Philipp: “We both studied biotechnology. He then went to Munich for his Master’s degree and continued to study management there. Max is an industrial engineer and when I had the idea for the EXIST funding application, we needed someone who explicitly operates at the interface between business, technology and science: He was able to imagine this and has been in charge of the organisational part and communication for COLIPI ever since. This means, above all, working through huge amounts of emails every day, organising meetings, preparing presentations, pitching to investors, making ourselves known and networking.”

Philipp met Tyll Utesch and Jonas Heuer at the Institute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering at TU Hamburg. Tyll completed his doctorate there in 2019. With his strengths in technology development and implementation, he is now responsible for the implementation of CO2 neutrality at COLIPI. During his doctoral thesis, he developed a novel electrode arrangement for electrochemically supported bioprocesses, which was patented.

Jonas Heuer and Philipp were colleagues during their doctoral thesis and sat in the same office. Jonas’ doctoral thesis focused on the enzymatic utilization of CO2. For this topic, he also acquired a high level of expertise in molecular biology and genetic engineering work, which is also an option for the yeasts now being used. However, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) represent a major barrier to market entry. Jonas also has expertise in downstreaming and product development and has completed an extensive internship at cosmetics companies. He is also responsible for regulatory affairs at COLIPI.

Philipp himself is more responsible for fermentation in the team, i.e. for the production of fats and yeasts. But a large part of his work also involves estimating and scaling process costs. Together with Tyll and Jonas, he is responsible for the technological science side.

Start-up support

“At the time, I asked Tutech about start-up support, and the start-up consultant Dr. Andrea Otto from beyourpilot got in touch with me immediately (note: the university association “beyourpilot” has been called since July 2023 “Startup Port“) . She has advised and supported us with two EXIST research transfer applications for funding. Andrea knows what such an application should look like and what is required of us. She didn’t look at the application from a scientific perspective, as we did, but from the perspective of the jury. Andrea also regularly pushed us. And we really needed that. Unfortunately, our first application was rejected on November 15, 2020 because, among other things, we didn’t have any presentable prototypes yet. That’s why we then applied for Calls for Transfer under the leadership of my then Institute Director Professor Zeng,” Philipp explains.

The “Calls for Transfer” (C4T) program launched in summer 2018 under the project sponsorship of TU Hamburg specifically addresses this problem and promotes the transfer of ideas, knowledge and technology at Hamburg’s state universities by initially supporting project applications with up to 30,000 euros. The funding amount can be used flexibly in terms of content and form so that the project plans can be driven forward in an implementation-oriented manner: “The procurement of the funding was wonderfully unbureaucratic. Roland Winterstein from C4T Controlling provided us with excellent financial support,” the scientist continues.

Nothing stood in the way of the second – and successful – EXIST application with the beyourpilot start-up consultant and, with a joint effort, the startup received the long-awaited approval in mid-2021: the funding has been flowing since November 2021, enabling the expansion of oil production from laboratory scale to industrial production. The increased awareness of sustainability is also increasing the demand for CO2-neutral oil in commercial products: “This gives companies in the cosmetics and food industries a clear market advantage, so nobody wants to jump on the bandwagon too late,” emphasizes Max Webers.

Founding, taking wing and entering the market

“We founded the company about a month ago so that we can now approach investors. This was not possible before the official start of funding – due to the associated conditions,” explains Philipp. They urgently need more help in the laboratory because there are “lots of ideas – but not enough staff”. Two scientists are needed for fermentation and processing. The founders are also considering whether they should work with someone to take care of advertising and sales for the market launch.

“We are also trying to make an orderly departure from the TU Hamburg. We’re allowed to stay here until 2024 – and we’re grateful for that – but we’re aiming for something of our own and don’t want to unnecessarily strain the capacities here. So we are looking for external lab space and pilot opportunities,” says Philipp, looking to the future. In one to two years, they could grow to up to ten people.

The first products containing COLIPI oil are expected to be on the market in two years’ time. On the way there, beyourpilot will be on hand with help and advice.

https://colipi.com/