Startup Tales | Isuschem, from waste vegetable oils to bio-ingredients: green chemistry turning waste into resources
Transforming vegetable-based residues and by-products into high-value ingredients, reducing dependence on fossil-based raw materials and on vegetable supply chains that compete with food production. This is the challenge at the core of Isuschem, an innovative startup and academic spin-off of the University of Naples Federico II, active in the fields of the circular bioeconomy and green chemistry.
Isuschem develops and produces bio-based ingredients for industrial applications, particularly in cosmetics, coatings and packaging, biolubricants, and other functional formulations. At the heart of its offering is a patented technology that converts fatty acids derived from residual oils, waste oils, and non-food vegetable sources into high-performance ingredients and intermediates through processes designed according to the principles of green chemistry.
Isuschem: from the laboratory to industrial development
Isuschem was founded in Naples in 2018, bringing together scientific expertise developed within the Department of Chemical Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II and industrial know-how in the field of chemical formulations. The entrepreneurial project was created with the objective of bringing applied research results to market, combining performance, sustainability, and scalability.
The company is led by Vincenzo Benessere, CEO and PhD in Chemical Sciences, who brings extensive experience in green chemistry. The scientific and technological development of the company also benefits from academic and industrial expertise, including that of Professor Martino Di Serio, who has a strong background in research and intellectual property, and Massimo Melchiorre in the R&D area. Over the years, Isuschem has worked to transform a laboratory-developed technological platform into an industrial solution, progressively validating products, applications, and processes.
An important milestone in the company’s growth journey was its participation in Terra Next, the accelerator dedicated to the bioeconomy within the National Accelerator Network of CDP Venture Capital, promoted in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and managed by Factory Plus. The program helped strengthen the company’s entrepreneurial capabilities and position its technology within the broader bioeconomy ecosystem. In 2024, Terra Next also took part in a total investment of €360,000 in Isuschem. In July 2026, ROELMI HPC and Consorzio Italbiotec joined the company’s shareholding structure as strategic partners, opening a new phase of industrial, commercial, and technological growth.
The technology: a platform for the Circular Bioeconomy
Isuschem’s technology originates from a practical question: is it possible to obtain high-performance chemical ingredients without relying exclusively on fossil-based resources or crops intended for food production? The company’s answer lies in the valorization of fatty acids derived from residual vegetable oils, waste oils, and other non-food sources, which are transformed into functional molecules through proprietary catalytic processes.
The patented process uses zinc- or iron-based catalysts that are reusable and economically accessible. It was developed with particular attention to reducing consumption, waste generation, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The technology platform makes it possible to design ingredients with different functional properties tailored to the final application while maintaining a circular approach to raw materials.
The applications span multiple markets. In cosmetics, the bio-ingredients can be used in haircare, skincare, and sunscreen formulations, serving functions such as emollients, carriers, and binders. In the coatings and packaging sector, they can be used in formulations for printing inks and paints. In the biolubricants sector, they are suitable for industrial applications in the textile, leather, and metallurgical industries. This versatility is one of the distinguishing features of the technology: a single green chemistry platform can generate families of ingredients adaptable to different markets.
Sustainability is not viewed merely as a communication tool but as a measurable and verifiable parameter. For this reason, Isuschem complements technological development with environmental assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) activities, with the goal of quantifying the benefits of its process throughout the product lifecycle and supporting scale-up activities with data that can be used when engaging with customers, industrial partners, and investors.
The contribution of Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center to Isuschem’s growth
Isuschem came into contact with the innovation ecosystem of Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center through Terra Next.
The bioeconomy-focused program represented a meeting point for research, industry, capital, and market access, fully aligned with the nature of the startup’s project: bringing a green chemistry technology out of the laboratory and transforming it into a scalable industrial platform.
As one of the promoters of Terra Next, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center supports startups and companies through open innovation and circular economy approaches. For Isuschem, participation in this ecosystem meant becoming part of a structured acceleration pathway and engaging with industrial and financial stakeholders, strengthening its ability to position its technology not only as a scientific achievement but also as a business opportunity within the circular bioeconomy.
The Terra Next journey was also accompanied by an investment that supported the company’s development phase. Over time, Isuschem has strengthened its market position, expanded the applications of its technology, and prepared for subsequent growth opportunities. The entry of ROELMI HPC and Consorzio Italbiotec into the company’s shareholding structure in 2026 marks another important step in this trajectory, from technology validation to the establishment of strategic industrial partnerships
Future outlook: from scale-up to european growth
Isuschem’s next challenge is to industrialize on a larger scale what has already been validated both technologically and commercially. The company is currently engaged in a capital-raising process aimed at building a new production facility and strengthening its organizational structure, thereby increasing manufacturing capacity and serving the cosmetics, coatings, lubricants, and functional industrial applications markets more effectively.
At the same time, the company aims to expand its application portfolio and intellectual property assets, strengthen collaborations with industrial and scientific partners, and accelerate its European go-to-market strategy. The objective is to establish Isuschem as a technology platform capable of making a tangible contribution to the replacement of conventional raw materials with bio-based and circular alternatives, demonstrating that sustainability and industrial performance can be part of the same growth strategy.
