In the push to decarbonize transport, waste biomass is gaining traction as a renewable resource—but only if it can be transformed into fuels that meet commercial standards. Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) offers a promising pathway for producing energy-rich bio-oil from waste streams. Still, HTL oil on its own doesn’t solve the problem. Without a scalable, cost-effective way to upgrade it, the oil remains stranded, unsuitable for direct use in existing engines or infrastructure. That’s where NULIFE GreenTech and NanosTech come in. Together, they are working towards offering a comprehensive, decentralized, and modular solution to convert HTL-derived oils from waste biomass into drop-in renewable diesel and other fuels.
The Problem Is Bigger Than Bio-Oil
HTL enables the conversion of food processing residues, dairy waste, sewage sludge, and agricultural biomass into a low-carbon-intensity bio-oil. But in general, bio-oil’s composition—high in water, oxygen, and nitrogen—makes it extremely difficult to process using conventional refinery methods. Traditional hydrotreating requires high amounts of hydrogen, as well as centralized facilities, which are factors that inhibit renewable oil producers from scaling due to cost, complexity, and emissions. For HTL oil to fulfill its potential, the industry needs a way to upgrade this difficult feedstock efficiently and affordably.
NULIFE’s Strategy: Feedstock-Agnostic, Engineered for HTL
NULIFE has built a feedstock-agnostic platform specifically engineered for HTL. Its system converts a wide range of wet and dry waste biomass into engineered slurries, designed to optimize the HTL conversion process. This flexibility enables year-round production, regardless of location or season, and ensures a stable supply of HTL bio-oil. The company’s modular design allows facilities to be located closer to where waste is generated, reducing logistics costs and improving lifecycle emissions. NULIFE isn’t just creating bio-oil—it’s building a platform for renewable fuels from almost any organic waste, anywhere.
NanosTech’s Role: AQP+ as the Enabler for HTL Oils
NanosTech’s Aquaprocessing Plus (AQP+) platform was designed to do what traditional refineries can’t: upgrade challenging oils, including those from HTL, into high-quality, refinery-ready fuels. It operates without external hydrogen and without sulphide catalysts, relying instead on a self-hydrogenating reaction enabled by water in the oil itself. For HTL oils, this is a breakthrough. AQP+ tolerates water, nitrogen, and oxygen, enabling direct upgrading into renewable diesel or marine fuels in a simplified, lower-cost process. Its compact and modular footprint supports deployment wherever the feedstock is generated, making distributed production a real option.
The Fit: Where the Two Platforms Meet
The partnership between NULIFE and NanosTech is about integration and acceleration. NULIFE creates a reliable supply of HTL bio-oil from waste biomass. NanosTech provides the upgrading solution to turn it into a market-ready fuel. Together, they’re creating a complete waste-to-fuel pathway that is modular, flexible, and scalable—from feedstock sourcing to final diesel output. It’s a system designed to work in the real world, with real waste, at real commercial volumes.
What’s Next: Results Coming Soon
The teams recently completed a run, upgrading NULIFE’s HTL oil using the AQP+ platform. The upgraded product performed beyond expectations, and the full results will be shared publicly at the Global Energy Show 2025.
Don’t Miss It – Join Us at GES25
See the full technical results at the Global Energy Show Canada 2025 in Calgary.
📍 Visit NanosTech in the decarbonization area, Booth 771
🎟️ Use code [NANOSTECH2025] for discounted registration.
This is the next chapter in renewable fuels—from waste biomass to HTL oil to diesel—without compromise.
Contact us to learn more.
To learn about NULIFE Visit: https://www.nulifegreentech.com/
