Dear Colleagues,

You certainly noted that sustainability is an increasing trend in the oils & fats market worldwide. Of course, we talk a lot about sustainable palm oil in the EU which is largely adopting a certified supply chain. But sustainability is not limited to the palm or soybean sourcing, and this trend is expanding outside of European borders. A strong social, environmental and health and nutrition awareness is rising in consumers’ minds all around the world. Consequently, new sourcing, technologies, supply chain, certification system, labeling and claims are spreading rapidly, hence creating new business models.

Surprisingly, international congresses are granting at best one session about sustainability. We, at FAT & Associés, have decided to organize an international event in order to gather all industrial and institutional actors, and also decision’ markers, around the last disruptive actions surrounding sustainability. The 6th Sustainable Oils & Fats International Congress (SOFIC2027) will will be a virtual event on March 25 & 26, 2027. No Travel costs, more CO2 savings! .

You are engaged in the sustainability trend, or you would like to understand how far this phenomenon is expanding: join us and share your experience within the community!

F&A Congress team


Speakers

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    Vanessa ALVES

    Vanessa ALVES holds a Ph.D. in Food and Nutrition from the School of Food Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Vanessa is expert in Food Science and Technology, with a focus on R&D and innovation, plant-based foods, bioprocesses, and the development of structured lipids for food applications. Her research interests include sustainable lipid alternatives to replace trans fats and palm oil. Currently Vanessa serves as a Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Food Technology (ITAL).

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    Philipp ARBTER

    Philipp ARBTER holds a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from BHT Berlin and UL Lafayette (2010-2013) and an M.Sc. in Industrial Biotechnology from TU Munich (2013-2016). He completed his PhD at the TU Hamburg (2016-2022). Since 2022, Philipp has been the Co-founder and CSO of COLIPI, a biotechnology startup in Hamburg (Germany), that is developing low-CAPEX fermentation systems for microbial lipid production from renewable carbon sources.

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    Poon Wai CHING

    Poon Wai CHING is Professor of Data Analytics at Taylor’s University (AACSB-accredited), Her research spans the circular economy, sustainability, and environmental economics, supported by a strong publication record and approximately USD1.5 M. in external funding. Ranked among the top 5% of Malaysian economists by RePEc, she is recognized for both research impact and thought leadership. She is known for innovative teaching, and consistent success in postgraduate supervision.

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    Gareth DAVIES

    Gareth DAVIES is Senior Scientist and Carbon Co-Lead at Tunley Environmental, with expertise in carbon reduction, lifecycle assessment, organizational carbon foot printing, and environmental reporting. He has completed over 100 environmental assessments across a range of sectors, supporting organizations with evidence-based carbon and sustainability decisions. Gareth has experience developing novel solid materials for net zero CO₂ concrete and biomass derived carbon materials.

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    Cian DELANEY

    Cian DELANEY works for the Transport & Environment (T&E) energy team, focusing specifically on biofuels. His work focuses on EU and Member State policy regarding feedstock sustainability and eligibility, as well as long-term ambitions for renewable energy targets within the EU. Cian has a master’s degree in urban studies and has been working in sustainable transport for a number of years. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, he has a keen interest in sustainable urban development.

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    Wolter ELBERSEN

    Wolter ELBERSEN is a Sr. Researcher at Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands. His interests include development of sustainable biomass supply systems for the bio based economy and the application of underutilized biomass residues worldwide. He has worked on the development of methods to quantify circularity as a method to mobilize biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and other bio based uses. In recent years he has worked on the improved use of oil palm residues as a means of improving sustainability.

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    Moji KARIMI

    Moji KARIMI is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cemvita, an industrial biotechnology company developing renewable feedstocks for the sustainable fuels and chemicals industries. He has led the commercialization of microbial technologies that convert low-value waste carbon into Renewable Natural Oil, a next-generation lipid feedstock designed for existing HEFA infrastructure. Under his leadership, Cemvita has partnered with leading energy and industrial companies to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon bio solutions.

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    Alejandro MARANGONI

    Alejandro MARANGONI is a Professor and Tier I Canada Research Chair in Food, Health and Aging at the University of Guelph, Canada. He is the Editor in Chief of both Elsevier’s Current Opinion and Current Research in Food Science. He has founded and commercialized several technology platforms. Alejandro was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2018, an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2021 and appointed a member to the Order of Ontario in 2025.

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    Clémence QUEFFELEC

    Clémence QUEFFELEC is an Associate Professor at Nantes University, working at CEISAM laboratory (Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Synthesis, Analysis, and Modeling). Her research focuses on the valorization of biomass as well as agri-food and industrial waste, with the aim of developing alternative materials, particularly bio binders for road pavements. She is also interested in green chemistry approaches, such as photo catalysis and molecular plasmonic catalysis, which use light as an energy source to generate new chemical reactivity.

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    Caio SOUSA

    Caio SOUSA is a Senior Consultant at S&P Global Energy, based in São Paulo, Brazil. He is an Agronomic Engineer from ESALQ-USP, with expertise in agricultural systems and biofuel feedstocks, including oil-containing crops such as macaúba, carinata and camelina across Latin America. He combines experience in production systems, land evaluation, cost structures, and oil & fats feedstock supply with strong knowledge of international biofuel regulations, sustainability certification schemes, and carbon credit programs.

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    Priyanka TOSHNIWAL

    Priyanka TOSHNIWAL is the Chief Investment Officer at Ecopha Biotech Pty Ltd, an Australian biotech company pioneering sustainable PHA bioplastics from non-edible oils. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from The University of Western Australia and has over 15 years of experience in biotechnology, commercialization, and sustainable innovation. Her work focuses on advancing the circular bio economy through carbon-negative materials and renewable feedstocks

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    Marta TROFIMOVA

    Marta TROFIMOVA is a Head of Sustainability at Kernel, the largest producer of grains in Ukraine and the leader of the world sunflower oil market. She leads the company’s climate governance, including implementation of business opportunities associated with decarbonization and management of climate risks, as well as maintains corporate sustainability agenda.

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    Fabrice TURON

    Fabrice TURON has over 25 years’ experience in the oils & fats. He began his career with Danone group in the formulation department. Later at Bertin, Fabrice managed the lipid products portfolio development. As oil trait lead for Syngenta Seeds Company, he investigated various quality oil projects and he assembled a strategic output trait portfolio for oilseeds. Since 2010, Fabrice is leading the Research activities at FAT & Associés, a specialized consultancy for the lipids, oils and fats industry.

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    Xue-Rong ZHOU

    Xue-Rong ZHOU is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Agriculture & Food, Australia. He has more than a decade’s experience on GM crop deregulation with commercial partners, enabling commercialization of novel high value plant oils (omega-3 canola and mustard, super-high oleic safflower seed oil and game-changing high oil content in leaf for low carbon liquid fuels). Xue-Rong was a recipient of the 2024 Eureka Prize for Sustainability Research.


Attending Companies

Australia
• CSIRO • Ecopha Biotech Pty

Belgium
• Transport & Environment

Brazil
• S&P Global Energy • Unicamp

FCanada
• University of Guelph

France
• FAT & Associés • Université de Nantes

Germany
• Colipi

Malaysia
• Taylor’s University

The Netherlands
• Wageningen University Research

Ukraine
• Kernel

United Kingdom
• Tunley Environmental

USA
• Cemvita


Program

Thursday, March 25th 2027

 

1:50-2:00 p.m. (CET) Welcome & Congress Introduction

 

Session 1 – Recycling, Upcycling & Limiting Wastes

2:00-2:15
How Much Food Loss & Waste Count in Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
Fabrice Turon (FAT & Associés, France)

2:15-2:30
From Fryer to Freeway: Waste Cooking Oils as Sustainable Road Binders
Clémence Queffelec (University of Nantes, France)

2:30-2:45
Climate Butter: A Fermentation-Derived Emollient with Reduced Land Use and Carbon Footprint
Philipp Arbter (Colipi, Germany

2:45-3:00
Q&A

3:00-3:15
Navigating EU Policy for First Generation Biofuels
Cian Delaney (Transport & Environment, Belgium)

3:15-3:30
Oil-containing Crops in Latin America to Support EU Advanced Biofuels
Caio Sousa (S&P Global Energy, Brazil)

3:30-3:45
Renewable Natural Oil: Expanding the Feedstock Landscape for HEFA and Renewable Fuels
Moji Karimi (Cemvita, USA)

3:45-4:00
Q&A
 

Friday, March 26st 2027

 

Session 2 – Low Carbon Oils & Fats

8:30-8:45 a.m. (CET)
Transforming Plant Leaves into Biofuel Factories
Xue-Rong Zhou (CSIRO, Australia)

8:45-9:00
Unlocking the Potential of Pongamia Oil for Next-Generation PHA Bioplastics
Priyanka Toshniwal (Ecopha Biotech Pty, Australia)

9:00-9:15
Comparative Study on the Sustainability of Vegetable Oils
Wolter Elbersen (Wageningen University Research, the Netherlands)

9:15-9:30
Q&A
 

9:30-9:45
Circular Economy Doctrine for Regenerative Agriculture
Poon Wai Ching (Taylor’s University, Malaysia)

9:45-10:00
Kernels’ Approaches to Ensuring Low-Carbon Food Production
Marta Trofimova (Kernel, Ukraine)

10:00-10:10
Q&A
 

10:10-10:30
PANEL OPINION: Anticipating Zero Carbon Oils & Fats by 2050?
Panelists:
Wolter Elbersen (Wageningen University Research, the Netherlands)
Cian Delaney (Transport & Environment, Belgium)
Poon Wai Ching (Taylor’s University, Malaysia)
Priyanka Toshniwal (Ecopha Biotech Pty, Australia)
Xue-Rong Zhou (CSIRO, Australia)
Marta Trofimova (Kernel, Ukraine)
Moderator:
Fabrice Turon (FAT & Associés, France)

 

Session 3 – Alternatives to Palm Oil

2:00-2:15 p.m. (CET)
The Race to Replace Palm Oil: Who’s Ahead?
Fabrice Turon (FAT & Associés, France)

2:15-2:30
Sposor Lecture
TBC

2:30-2:45
Q&A
 

2:45-3:00
The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Tale of Sustainable Oil
Gareth Davies (Tunley Environmental, UK)

3:00-3:15
Beyond Palm Oil: Structuring Palm Oil-Free Lipid Bases for Food Applications
Vanessa Alves (Unicamp, Brazil)

3:15-3:30
Enzymatic Glycerolysis of Oils as a Path to Sustainable and Healthy Fats
Alejandro Marangoni (University of Guelph, Canada)

3:30-3:45
Q&A
 

3:45-4:15
PANEL OPINION: Changing Paradigm & Producing Vegetable Fats in the North Hemisphere
Panelists:
Vanessa Alves (Unicamp, Brazil)
Alejandro Marangoni (University of Guelph, Canada)
Gareth Davies (Tunley Environmental, UK)
Moderator:
Fabrice Turon (FAT & Associés, France)

 

4:15-4:30 Closing Remarks & Conclusions

 






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