Levur

👋 Hello! We wanted to take this moment to reintroduce ourselves to the new faces in our network. For those of you that have been following our journey, you'll know we're tackling the environmental impact of palm oil head-on. Our team has engineered a special type of yeast that produces a sustainable alternative to palm oil, perfect for cosmetics, foods and beyond. You can think of it as fermentation with a purpose—creating a palm oil substitute that's not only better for the planet but also high quality and scalable. Follow us on this journey as we share more on the latest global research & industry updates, as well as a look inside our progress as we build Levur.

✨ Meet the minds behind Levur ✨ Sahana is a recent Master of Biotechnology graduate at Macquarie University and already a valued member of the R&D team at Levur. With hands-on experience in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and protein expression, she’s worked on exciting projects like optimising enzyme production and yeast biosynthesis. Outside the lab, Sahana combines her passion for science and creativity as a vocal teacher.

What a year it’s been for Levur! As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on our milestones by spelling out L-E-V-U-R: 🌟 LANDED media coverage in leading Australian publications, received a top award from the The Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and Tom took the stage at TEDxSydney to share our vision. 🤝 EXPANDED our team with brilliant minds, Joanne, Sashika, Aprile, and Sahana, strengthening our capabilities in and out of the lab. 🌍 VALIDATED our groundbreaking technology with a proof of concept that’s not only equivalent to palm oil but also sustainable, scalable, and game-changing. 🔓 UNLOCKED incredible partnerships with future customers, SparkLabs Cultiv8, Climate Salad, and secured cutting-edge lab space at the Australian Genome Foundry. 🚀 RAISED funding, including backing from Main Sequence, Australia’s leading deep-tech investors, to fuel our next phase of growth. A huge thanks to everyone who’s been part of this wild and wonderful ride. Here’s to an even bigger 2025! 

The palm oil industry was having a devastating impact on the environment, fuelling deforestation and harming wildlife. Founder of Levur, Tom Collier set out to create a solution. Years of research and a PhD later, he achieved something groundbreaking: palm oil brewed from yeast, not trees. True to its mission, Levur is now tackling one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges by producing palm oil for the cosmetics industry that is indistinguishable from traditional palm oil—without deforestation. Using a process similar to brewing beer, Levur’s yeast-based oil has the potential to transform industries and pave the way for a circular economy. Read the full story below. 👇 #Innovation #SyntheticBiology

Levur is in the news! We're excited to be featured alongside other innovative Australian companies working to shape the future. Check it out in the The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times or The Age. Thank you Caitlin Fitzsimmons for taking the time to interview Tom Collier and make this a reality. Sharing these good news story couldn't be more important. ✨

Tom Collier of startup Levur and Dr Jerome Ramirez, Postdoctoral Fellow in Bioprocess Engineering at our QUT (Queensland University of Technology) node are representing the Centre at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore. 🌱✨ 🌾 This year's summit is dedicated to accelerating climate resilience and improving nutrition in Asia, a region responsible for producing over half of the world's food. 🌏🍎 The focus is on driving innovative solutions to address critical challenges in agriculture and food security. #CoESB #OurPeople #Conference #Innovation #Sustainability

*Wrapping up the week with a look at the latest news our team is reading that's impacting our planet* 🌴 Palm Oil and the Environment: A recent investigation by the Rainforest Action Network revealed deforestation is still occurring in protected reserves, impacting endangered species. This highlights the urgent need for sustainable supply chain solutions, like the innovative oils we're developing at Levur. 🌎 COP16 Colombia: This conference focused on implementing the international biodiversity framework, a cause close to our hearts at Levur. While the outcomes were mixed, Natalie Kyriacou OAM's post offers a great summary and a reason for optimism: https://lnkd.in/gmycXVpJ We're always on the lookout for more sources, let us know in the comments what you're reading this month. ⬇️

At Levur, we're fortunate to have a range of partners across the local ecosystem, including SparkLabs Cultiv8 - an accelerator we've been a part of for the last 6 months. This week in Orange, we wrapped it up with a final pitch, alongside 8 other startups in the climate tech space. Listening to their pitches, we were blown away by their innovative approaches to solving climate challenges. Some highlights: - Alkiira Therapeutics is transforming discarded organic food production waste into high-value ingredients for health and wellness products.   - Bovotica is developing a feed supplement that reduces methane emissions from cattle while increasing production efficiency for farmers.   - Carbon Friendly has developed end-to-end carbon technology solutions that enable the agricultural sector to establish and monetise large-scale carbon projects.   - Nitronic is developing technology that produces carbon-neutral nitrogen fertilisers in decentralised, regional hubs.   - NonTox is developing herbicide alternatives that effectively eliminate weeds resistant to traditional agricultural herbicides.   - PyxGlobal is bringing sustainable commodities and UN transparency standards together in one place. - Teramax produces certified, compostable, soil-friendly mulch films as an alternative to traditional plastic films in horticultural production. - Unibaio has created a microparticle from natural origins that makes agricultural chemicals more effective.

Inter-state co-founders catch up in real life 🤝 This week, Tom & Joanne are in Orange for SparkLabs Cultiv8 showcase week - wrapping up the final stage of the 6 month long accelerator. We can't quite believe how rapidly things at Levur have progressed in that time! Special thanks to Tiffany Holland, Malcolm Nutt and Jonathon Quigley for their support.

💡 The science behind the scenes 💡 This month's topic: Understanding Synthetic Biology and how it's used at Levur. 🔬 A fascinating fusion of multiple scientific and social disciplines, synthetic biology covers the design and construction of new biological parts, devices, and systems, or the redesign of existing ones. 🧬 Synthetic biologists use the building blocks of life – DNA – to create parts similar to how a computer is made up of chips and cables. They then engineer these different parts to work together in a certain microorganism. 🫧 Yeasts are already used in our everyday lives for brewing beer or making bread. We work hard to unlock their potential to produce sustainable oils that can be used in everything from foods to cosmetics. 🏗️ Construction is a key part of the equation, and the accuracy and speed of the equipment used are really important. 🌱 These advancements have the potential to transform numerous industries, such as: Energy - reduction in emissions Environment - replacing harmful ingredients with ethical alternatives Wellness - creating new formulations for longevity Agriculture - more sustainable food production Australia is at the forefront of this exciting field, with several organisations and start-ups working to transform our world and create a more sustainable future. For more resources, check out ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology and Synthetic Biology Australasia.