Future Origins Demonstrates Large Scale Production of Nalo™

Proprietary Technology has been Demonstrated at Multi-ton Scale and is On-Track to Meet Commercialization Targets

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Future Origins today announced the successful completion of a large-scale demonstration campaign of Nalo™, its zero deforestation drop-in replacement for C12/C14 fatty alcohols commonly used in surfactants such as laundry detergent and face wash. The demonstration campaign produced more than 10 tons of in-spec material in an integrated refining facility. The U.S.-based joint venture, which is commercializing sustainable alternatives to critical ingredients for the global home and personal care markets, views this milestone as a major step forward in its efforts toward a Final Investment Decision (FID) for its first commercial-scale manufacturing plant.

"This demonstration campaign, completed at multi-ton scale in an integrated refining facility, is an essential step in progressing from a pilot phase to full-scale commercial production. This important achievement validates the quality of our product and the robustness and scalability of our proprietary process technology," said John Gugel, CEO at Future Origins. "In an ever-changing marketplace, consumer brands need the consistent superior quality and supply-chain stability that Future Origins can provide through Nalo."

The purified product from this large-scale production will be shipped to current and prospective partners for testing across multiple applications in the home and personal care segments. This is similar to the application testing work that was already conducted for the material produced from pilot scale production, conducted by personal care product global leaders such as Kao, Unilever and L'Oréal, and a leading surfactant and specialty ingredient player, Galaxy Surfactants Limited.

"Our goal is to deliver the materials that are not only sustainably and reliably sourced, but also meet the high standards for our customers," said Daisuke Hamada, Senior Executive Officer in charge of Chemical Business from Kao. "We are pleased that Nalo meets this need, offering functionality and greater supply chain resilience."

"Future Origins is a powerful demonstration of how scientific innovation can enhance our supply chain, bringing together breakthrough biotechnology with scalable execution," said Richard Slater, Chief R&D Officer at Unilever. "It's a milestone that reinforces our belief that through leading-edge science, we can create products that are both desirable and sustainable."

"Not only is Nalo performing from a technical perspective, but we have concluded that it works as a drop-in replacement for a key ingredient in formulations," said Mr. Vaijanath Kulkarni, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Galaxy Surfactants Limited.  

Nalo will be manufactured at industrial scale in the coming years. Kao recently secured an offtake agreement covering a majority of the planned capacity of Future Origins' first manufacturing plant.

"The validation of Nalo by multiple partners and the successful completion of the demo-scale operations will accelerate the market momentum that Future Origins has experienced since late last year," said Dr Priti Pharkya, Chief Business Officer at Future Origins. "We look forward to advancing into the next stage of development."

Future Origins was founded by industrial biomanufacturing technology leader Genomatica ("Geno"), together with Unilever, Kao, and L'Oréal, to commercialize and manufacture high-volume sustainable ingredients for widely used surfactants used in the global home and personal care markets. Galaxy Surfactants Limited has provided independent product quality and formulation testing for Future Origins throughout the successful technology scale-up program.

For more information, visit the Future Origins website at www.futureorigins.com.

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SOURCE Future Origins