Inspired by a stint in Indonesia, Maximilian Webers – who co-founded a Germany-based startup called COLIPI focused on creating carbon-neutral oils from carbon dioxide (CO2) and organic industrial waste material – is hoping to extend its European success to the Asian market.
Many visitors to Indonesia return home with memories of stunning beaches and lush landscapes. For Maximilian Webers, his experience led him to dedicate his life to making the world a better place.
The CEO and founder of COLIPI – a Germany-based industrial biotechnology startup – lived and worked in Yogyakarta and Jakarta for one year from 2016 to 2017, following his graduation from the Technical University of Munich with a Master’s degree in Business and Management for Engineers.
I was deeply impacted by the contrast between the country’s stunning natural beauty—its waterfalls, volcanoes, and crystal-clear waters—and the widespread environmental degradation, such as deforestation for industrial farming and plastic pollution in rivers and beaches.
He recalls hiking in Sulawesi, where aside from the occasional bird call, “what you hear loudest is the chainsaw” as trees were felled.
“It was a painful experience. For me, this underscored the urgent need to decouple global economic growth from environmental degradation, particularly in terms of land use and atmospheric CO2 levels.”
Brewing Carbon-Neutral Oils
With three friends, Max first co-founded COLIPI during the pandemic but it was in 2022 that it was formally established, as a spin-off from the Technical University of Hamburg.
* COLIPI founders. (from left) Jonas Heuer, Max Webers, Philipp Arbter and Tyll Utesch.
With the tagline “Our brewery produces oils, not beers”, the startup produces Climate OilTM (versus palm oil or crude oil) and in future, other molecules, by utilising yeasts feeding on industrial organic side streams and bacteria feeding on harmful CO2 emissions.
The sustainable oil can be used in the cosmetics, foods, and petrochemical industries. Product development in partnership with various global corporates have started. COLIPI is part of the L’Oréal Green Science Incubator for cosmetics applications.
The startup has since grown from strength-to-strength. In 2023, COLIPI generated significant revenue for the first time, totalling €250,000. In 2024, it raised €1.8 million in seed funding, more than doubled the size of its team from five to 13 members, and scaled its process from lab-scale to pilot-scale operations to increase its capacity to hundreds of litres.
* The COLIPI team
COLIPI also moved out of the Technical University of Hamburg where it was based into its own 400-square meter laboratory and office space on campus called Tempowerk in Hamburg.
* Bioreactors for yeast fermentation at COLIPI’S new lab and office space in Hamburg.
Beyond success in Europe, the COLIPI team have set their sights back on Asia.
Turning to Asia
In September 2023, Max flew over 10,000km from Germany to Singapore to participate in the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition. They had been selected as one of the 50 finalists of the competition.
Besides winning the competition, their objective was also to grow the awareness of COLIPI with potential investors and industrial partners in the region. The startup used to opportunity to meet numerous Singapore-based venture capital firms and potential corporate partners.
This first touchpoint with Singapore was followed by COLIPI’s nomination as one of the Top 50 Global Startups by SLINGSHOT, a deep tech startup competition organised by Enterprise Singapore. In October 2025, a representative from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) visited COLIPI to discuss collaboration opportunities.
* Max (extreme right) and COLIPI co-founder Jonas Heuer with science and tech journalist Sandy Ong at the pitch event of the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition.
On the need for that, Max explained that COLIPI would not top the Internet search lists in Singapore or Asia if the search were for “biological CCU”. (CCU stands for carbon capture and utilisation)
Competitions like the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition help to overcome these silos and build trust, opening doors that might otherwise remain closed.
Indeed, he said that the most memorable moments of the competition took place off the main stage – in meetings with potential investors, or camaraderie shared with fellow entrepreneurs.
* Max (extreme left) with other startup founders he met during the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan competition.
“The event highlighted Singapore as an exceptional hub for business, showcasing that while ample funding exists globally for initiatives like ours, accessing these resources can be challenging,” he said. “Success depends not just on meeting the right people, but also on effective storytelling and navigating transactional hurdles.”
COLIPI has not yet established a foothold in Asia, but they are eager to do so either as a wholly-owned subsidiary or through joint ventures.
We invite interested parties to explore partnership opportunities with us. We’re actively seeking investors for kicking off our Series A fund raising early 2025 and industrial partners who want to capitalise on their CO2 emissions or organic side streams like food waste.
He added, “We’re also looking to collaborate with research partners to tackle the numerous technological challenges ahead, including strain engineering, industrial off-gas pre-treatment, and local side stream valorisation among others.”
Scaling COLIPI’s offerings is difficult work. But Max continues to derive joy from what he does.
“It’s the right thing to do. Every week, I read devastating news about the impact of global warming—whether it’s floods in China, wildfires in California, droughts in India, or hurricanes in the Americas; humans suffer and die because of the climate crisis that the industrialised world created. These events are just the beginning, and they underline the urgency of our mission.”
About COLIPI
COLIPI is pioneering what could become the world’s fastest biological carbon dioxide upcycling process. The startup transforms harmful CO2 emissions into carbon-light biomaterials, such as a microbial alternative to palm oil. Its technology leverages a unique combination of proprietary bacteria and patented bioprocesses.
By licensing COLIPI’s technology, industries that emit CO2 can turn their environmental liabilities into revenue streams, while customers who use their carbon-light biomaterials can significantly reduce their Scope 3 emissions.
