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Terra Oleo’s oil-producing microbes could replace destructive palm oil plantations
Terra Oleo had operated in stealth for years, developing yeast strains capable of producing high-value oils that don't need refining. It has raised $3.1 million.
The germ of Lee’s startup, Terra Oleo, emerged in 2022 when she met co-founder Boon Uranukul, who, as a doctoral candidate at MIT, had developed microbes that could produce building blocks of plastics using agricultural waste. Image Credits: Terra OleoPalm oil can be refined into dozens of derivatives, so Lee and Uranukul mapped them to determine where to begin. Last season, the world produced nearly 79 million metric tons, according to the USDA, though the market hasn’t grown significantly in the past six years.
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