Äio raises €6.1 million to scale sawdust-to-palm oil technology

In Estonia, foodtech startup Äio has closed a €6.1 million ($6.8 million) funding round to build a demonstration-scale, fermentation-based production unit converting crop and wood waste into palm oil and animal fats.

Investors included Voima Ventures, 2C Ventures, Nordic Foodtech VC, and SmartCap Green Fund.

“Providing sustainable alternatives to products such as palm oil or animal fats is a critically important step in reducing the environmental impact of the food and cosmetics industry,” said Hendrik Reimand, partner at 2C Ventures, according to Green Queen. “We are confident in the teams’ ability to turn this scientific development into commercial success.”

Äio was spun out of Tallinn University of Technology in 2022. Its process has the potential to reduce land use related to palm oil and animal fat production by 97%.