Latest

2022-2023

Xylome Publishes a Description of YoilTM and Yoil CreamTM Physical and Chemical Characteristics

Xylome’s scientists have published a brief description of the physical and chemical characteristics of YoilTM and Yoil CreamTM in the online version of Cosmetics and Toiletries. As noted in the text, Xylome used native genes and promoters in the wild-type Lipomyces yeast to over express key genes that increase lipid production and shift the fatty acid profile so that it closely matches what is found in palm oil. The resulting strain, XYL403 produces large intracellular lipid bodies that yield a bright white oil that is a solid at room temperature. Analysis of the fatty acid profile shows that the relative amounts of C18:1 and C16:0 are very similar in oil from palm and Xyl403. Yoil Cream is composed of an aqueous suspension of yeast lipid bodies, which results in a smooth, non-oily feel upon application, while rendering soft, silky skin surface. The lipid bodies are hydrophilic on the outside but hydrophobic on the inside enabling the uptake and containment of hydrophobic topical compounds.


Xylome Replaces Palm Oil with Fermented Yoil and Yoil-Cream

Xylome has launched two sustainable drop-in replacements for refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm oil: Yoil (INCI: Lipomyces Oil Extract) and Yoil-Cream. These novel products are described in a recent on-line publication of Cosmetics and Toiletries Lipomyces oil (YoilTM) is a pure oil extracted from Xylome’s patented strain of Lipomyces without bleaching or deodorization. Yoil (yeast oil) is a white, solid fat at room temperature and a clear liquid at body temperature. Yoil-CreamTM is comprised of isolated lipid bodies along with other mild ingredients. The cream is stable upon repeated steam sterilization and potentially useful for the loading of hydrophobic active ingredients.


Xylome’s Yoil is brighter than organic RBD and does not require bleaching like other yeast oils

Differences in color and melting point are clear in a comparison of Organic RBD (purchased), Pure Yoil and an oil extracted from a common basidiomycetous yeast using the same procedure used for Yoil. All three were held at room temperature

Xylome partners with Comstock in successful US-DOE award for sustainable biofuels

Jan 26, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $118 million in funding for 17 projects to accelerate the production of sustainable biofuels for America’s transportation and manufacturing needs. Comstock, Inc. is a recipient of one of these – a $2,000,000 award to create “Bioleum”. The process starts with woody lignocellulosics to create a purified cellulosic sugar, which Xylome’s lipogenic yeast will convert into oil. It will combine lignocellulose fractionation with fermentative oil generation and thermochemcal blending to create a high energy fuel.


Xylome leading in commercial development of palm oil substitute

Dec. 22, 2022 – In an interview with FoodIngredientsFirst, Xylome’s CEO, Tom Kelleher noted that its product, Yoil, “is produced by yeast in a pure-culture fermentation. It is a white, nearly bioidentical replacement for Refined-Bleached-Deodorized (RBD) tropical palm oil.” Xylome’s product is unique in being colorless and odorless without bleaching. “The major challenge is the large capital expense (CapEx) for commercial-scale fermentation facilities,” he notes. “To achieve a global game-change, the cost of Yoil must be significantly lower than the cost of crude palm oil in the field in Malaysia.” Large scale, lower cost production increases the impact of sustainable production. “Xylome was founded to make sustainable ingredients for large markets using the power of yeast synthetic biology.”


Xylome awarded a USDA SBIR grant to improve aquaculture

July 1, 2022 – The USDA SBIR program, administered by NIFA, awarded Xylome an SBIR Phase I grant to produce low cost omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from yeast to improve the nutritional quality of aquaculture raised fish.


Xylome in the news: The Irreplaceable

June 23, 2022 – London Review of Books • Bee Wilson

Bee Wilson has published an in-depth review of Jocelyn Zuckerman’s excellent text, “Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up in Everything – and Endangered the World” Wilson’s review in the June , 2022 issue of the London Review Of Books summarizes the major points. Xylome is mentioned prominently in Planet Palm’s Epilog, and Wilson captures the essence: “A synthetic palm oil made by a fermentation process similar to brewing beer, which apparently looks like ‘an assemblage of golden-hued blobs’, waxy and odourless. It is made by an American tech company called Xylome, which has also created a sustainable alternative to biofuels using corn stover.” You can listen to an interview with Wilson here:

https://embed.acast.com/f8abe2f0-7415-4247-bc89-e5f3f6eff6b1/62b1c1fac7aea900127184fd?seek=9


Xylome team presented Yoil technology for higher oil production at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo 

June 13-16, 2022 – Minneapolis, MN


Palm oil is one of the most destructive ingredients you use every day. These startups are trying to replace it

January 27, 2022 – Fast Company • Adele Peters  

Xylome is beginning to work with brands to test an alternative called “Yoil,” produced by yeast, that’s almost identical to palm oil. “It’s basically a drop-in replacement,” says Xylome CEO Tom Kelleher.


Can Synthetic Palm Oil Help Save the World’s Tropical Forests?

January 5, 2022 – YaleEnvironment360 • James Dinneen  

Several startups are creating synthetic palm oil in the lab, hoping to slow the loss of tropical forests to oil palm cultivation. But palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil, and producing a synthetic version on a large scale remains a daunting challenge.