Biocatalysis is a promising route to decarbonise essential chemicals like ammonia, hydrogen, and plastics. However, bioproduction has historically faced slow R&D cycles and key scaleup bottlenecks. With notable exceptions, commercial endeavours have been limited to low-volume, high-value products.

We are interested in new pathways and tools that could overcome these barriers and unlock the true power of biology to clean some of the most polluting industrial sectors.

Engineered carbon cycles will be crucial for net zero, through both negative emissions and solutions to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries. Direct Air Capture has many strengths: low physical footprint, high storage durability and ease of measurement. However, even as a $100-150/ton target seems achievable, the sheer energy cost could hinder the scaleability of DAC on meaninful timescales. The falling cost of renewables only offer a partial answer to that challenge.

We are exploring novel DAC designs that could slash energy requirements, without compromising on capex costs. In addition to obvious sequestration pathways, a smart integration with CO2 utilisation could provide sustainable carbon feedstock to decarbonise chemicals.

Mineralisation occurs when certain rocks are exposed to CO2, which binds with calcium, magnesium or other elements to form carbonate minerals. This phenomenon naturally removes 0.3 gigaton per year and could be enhanced to multi-gigaton scale by 2050. Mineralisation has three unique advantages: chemical reactions require no energy input, the reactive minerals are in almost unlimited supply, and sequestration into rocks ensure maximum permanence. However, the reaction rate is very slow, the distribution of optimal resources is poorly understood, and certain methods face other challenges across water use, safety, logistics scaleup, and carbon uptake measurement.

We are scoping opportunities to remove these bottlenecks and unlock the gigaton potential of carbon mineralisation. This impact area being relatively unexplored compared to other pathways, we believe that several whitespaces exist for radical improvement.

The ocean is the largest carbon sink on the planet, holding 50 times more than the atmosphere, and naturally absorbing a quarter of anthropogenic emissions. Meanwhile, severe climate impacts are already felt by marine ecosystems. Ocean CDR has the potential to reach gigaton scale, with no land or freshwater bottleneck, and many potential co-benefits in restoring ecosystems and countering acidification. However, current approaches face numerous challenges, from operating in marine environments to assessing net negativity and environmental impacts.

We are exploring ocean CDR ideas across two main categories. Biotic methods use photosynthesis to produce marine biomass, coupled with various sequestration mechanisms. Abiotic methods, such as ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and electrochemical seawater splitting, leverage the carbonate system to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and lock it away for millenia.

The world needs to produce 70% more food calories by 2050 to feed 10 billion human beings. At the same time, agriculture is already feeling the heat from climate change, with more extreme droughts, floods, and hurricanes. Mainstream farming has contributed to soil erosion, groundwater depletion, deforestation to clear land for crops and livestock, and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, among other impacts. Left unadressed, this perfect storm implies massive disruptions to global food security, biodiversity, and climate mitigation efforts.

We are evaluating the feasibility of an outlandish idea: turning coastal deserts into farmland by misting seawater to create temperate microclimate. This approach has the potential to counter erosion and create new arable land, without the need to clear land or withdraw freshwater, and with a much higher energy efficiency compared to other desert food production techniques. With minor adaptation, the system could also be used to efficiently cool urban areas in the same regions.

The areas outlined above are just a few we're currently working on. We're interested in building solutions to many more climate problems. If you have other ideas you'd like to explore with us, and where your skillset and background gives you an unfair advantage, please get in touch.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of things we are interested in:

You only want to work on things that are directly trying to solve climate change. It’s a singular focus for you and the only way you want to spend your time. You have some knowledge of the climate tech world and existing startups in the space.

You are technically outstanding in a relevant domain. A PhD in a relevant field is a big plus. You must be very comfortable reviewing and assessing scientific literature and be able to ideate technically. Your technical background directly relates to the impact areas we are looking to build in, or in an area that we believe could unlock high impact climate solutions.

You are a driven individual who has always pushed themselves to achieve the best outcome they can get. You’ve worked around problems in the past. Found innovative ways to get what you needed done. And you’re determined to see things through to the end. You’ve experienced failures in your professional or personal life that you had to overcome to get to where you are today.

You are able to explain complex topics simply. You understand the key message you need to get across. You have used successfully convinced others to collaborate with you on topics or approaches that you believe to be the most interesting.

You look for new and unexpected approaches when you’re solving problems. You’re open to new suggestions when you’re trying to solve a hard problem and actively seek input from others. You can break down complex challenges into component parts so that you can more effectively find innovative ways to solve them. Whether it’s the latest technical paper, or established techniques from another field, you explore many routes when looking for a solution.

You are convinced that starting a company is your best way to make the maximum impact on climate. You’ve thought about stepping into entrepreneurship, but haven’t felt like you can take the leap before now. You’re tired of focusing on academic goals and want to find a way to build and effect real world change, quickly.