What if hempcrete could pour like pancake batter?

In this episode of Bite-Size Climate Tech, Lydia talks with Dr. Marc Maguire, Chief Scientific Officer at Bison Biocomposites, about Biofill, a flowable hemp-based insulation designed to make a traditionally labor-intensive material fit more easily into modern construction.

Along the way, we somehow get from snowballs to shaving cream, pancake batter and finally an ice-cream sandwich, all in the name of explaining what happens inside a wall.

Marc also gets into the harder commercial questions: why conventional insulation is so difficult to replace, what “better, faster and cheaper” really means, and what happens to the hemp supply chain if construction demand starts to scale.

Plus, in Pass It On, we talk AI, engineering and why expertise still matters when the machine sounds convincing.

Season 5: Climate Tech Is Just Good Business.Support Season 5:https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/supportLearn more about Bite-Size Climate Tech:https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-techHosted by Lydia ChenProduced by Day Zero ProductionFollow Bite-Size Climate Tech:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bite_size_climatetechLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/bite-size-climate-tech/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/02aADu5pkKjlVFGTxUNT5W?si=0b3c9a44c6db453bHave a guest suggestion, partnership idea, or climate tech story we should cover?Write to Lydia at [email protected] Bite-Size Climate Tech is an independent climate technology show making hard ideas easier to understand. Each episode explores one climate solution through plain-English explanations, founder stories, practical business questions, and a little help from CLI, our curious climate mascot.Season 5 asks a simple question:What does it take for climate technology to move from lab to market?Subscribe, share, and support the show if you want more clear, human, and useful climate storytelling.© 2026 Day Zero Production Limited. All rights reserved.

What if the climate mission stays the same, but the technology gets a better suit?

In this episode, Lydia catches up with Joe Perryman from Brineworks to unpack how the company evolved from its earlier ocean-based concept into a land-based system built around a closed saltwater loop.

Brineworks now produces two key feedstocks for synthetic fuels: sustainable CO₂ and green hydrogen.

But this conversation is about more than one company’s technical upgrade. It is also about a broader shift in climate tech: from “we should do this because it’s sustainable” to “it’s sustainable, and it can increasingly make sense as good business too.”

We cover:

• why Brineworks moved away from the ocean-based setup
• how the land-based system works in plain English
• the closed-loop saltwater design
• why CO₂ + H₂ matters for e-fuels
• where Brineworks sits in the value chain
• and why cheap, intermittent renewables change the economics

As Joe puts it:

“It’s sustainable, so we’re gonna do it because it’s the right thing… but it’s also now just getting very cheap.”

Explore more:
Brineworks: brineworks.tech
Bite-Size Climate Tech / Day Zero Production: dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech

Visual note: The CLI animated sequences are simplified educational illustrations based on Joe’s explanation. They are not engineering schematics or literal representations of Brineworks’ exact hardware or process configuration.

Most Bite-Size Climate Tech episodes start with one technology. This conversation became something much bigger.

Professor Vikram Yadav happened to be in London, the weather cooperated, and we recorded one of those rare in-person BSCT episodes.

We start with intelligent bioprocessing and a deceptively simple question: when does a scientific invention actually become innovation?

From there, we explore why climate technologies need to be designed for scale from the beginning, why commercial reality matters alongside scientific performance, and why scientists should be bold enough to ask how their inventions might fail.

We also talk about how to bring more talented people into climate work, Vikram’s journey from chemical engineering and oil & gas into biotechnology, the book that helped him see biology as a tool for planetary-scale problems, and why he remains optimistic about the next generation.

Vikram is a professor at the University of British Columbia and Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer of Tydra Labs.

One idea became the spine of the conversation:

There is a difference between invention and innovation. A breakthrough only becomes innovation when it works in the real world, at scale.

Recorded in London, May 2026.

Season 5: Climate Tech Is Just Good Business.

#ClimateTech #Bioprocessing #Innovation #ScienceCommunication

Cement’s hidden CO₂ problem begins inside the rock itself.

Much of cement’s emissions does not come only from the fuel burned in a kiln. The CO₂ is chemically locked inside limestone.

Dr. Erin R. Bobicki, co-founder and CEO of CURA, joins Lydia Chen to explain how the company aims to separate that CO₂ before the limestone enters the cement kiln.

Using the familiar reaction between vinegar and chalk, Erin breaks down CURA’s electrochemical pre-calcination process: electricity produces acid and base, the acid releases a concentrated stream of CO₂ from limestone, and the remaining calcium can still be used to make cement.

They explore:

• Why cleaner kiln fuel cannot solve cement’s full emissions problem
• How CURA captures CO₂ before the kiln
• The volcano experiment that makes the chemistry understandable
• CURA’s pathway from laboratory work to paid pilot and commercial deployment
• How carbon pricing is changing the economics of cement
• The northern Labrador experience that deepened Erin’s commitment to climate
• Why the cheapest option must also become the greenest option

CURA says its process could reduce cement-production emissions by up to 85% and manage the carbon at cost parity with conventional cement manufacturing.

But the final thought that stayed with Lydia was more personal.

Erin has six children, and they are already excited about the technology and the mission behind it.

As Erin put it:

“The next generation is already on it.”

Since this conversation was recorded, CURA has announced that its 5 kg/day mini-pilot is operational:
https://curaclimate.com/press/curas-mini-pilot-is-operational

Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/c-ggbzQILno

Learn more about CURA:
https://curaclimate.com/

Explore Bite-Size Climate Tech:
https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech

Support Season 5:
https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support

Figures, commercial claims, and deployment plans reflect CURA’s statements at the time of recording.

Selected visual explanations were created with AI-assisted animation and are intended as conceptual illustrations, not engineering schematics.

Alex Ivanenko is back on Bite-Size Climate Tech.

He first joined the show in Season 2 to talk about HyWatts and hydrogen reversible fuel cells. This time, he returns with a new company, The Lithium Company, and a new idea: LIRA, the Lithium Inventory Refill Agent.

The simplest version?

A protein shake for batteries.

In this conversation, Alex explains why some lithium-ion batteries may not be structurally dead, but depleted. We talk about active lithium inventory, battery restoration, the difference between recycling, repurposing, and restoring, and why this could become a good-business answer to replacement pressure.

We also talk about validation, commercialization, and why Alex keeps building in energy: because better, cheaper, more effective energy technologies can improve quality of life and expand access to electricity.

This is an early-stage story, but it captures the heart of Season 5: climate tech is just good business when it solves a real problem.

Note: Some visual explainers in the video version are AI-assisted and illustrative only. They are not technical demonstrations, validated test results, or performance guarantees.

Algae already make oil. The hard part is getting them to share it.

In this episode of Bite-Size Climate Tech, Lydia speaks with Ian Hu, CTO and co-founder of Phycobloom, a synthetic biology company engineering microalgae to release oil while staying alive.

Ian explains why crude oil originally came from ancient photosynthetic life, why traditional algae oil production was so energy-intensive, and how Phycobloom is exploring a different approach: teaching algae to release oil into their surroundings without destroying the cell.

The conversation covers algae 1.0, DNA as an instruction manual, synthetic biology, the “Monsters, Inc. 2.0” analogy, sustainable aviation fuel, energy security, techno-economics, and why climate startups need to think beyond the science from day one.

We also discuss Phycobloom’s internal techno-economic analysis, which suggests their approach could reduce production cost compared with conventional algae oil production by around 70 percent.

This is early-stage science, but it points to a big question: could living systems become a better way to make the carbon-based fuels and materials that electrification cannot easily replace?

Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5 is about why climate tech is just good business.

Note for video viewers: selected B-roll and animations in the video version are AI-assisted and used as educational explainers. The interview and company context are real.

Learn more about Phycobloom: https://www.phycobloom.com/
Support Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5: https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support

At Innovation Zero, I spoke with Kaly from Arborea about BioSolar Leaf, a cultivation platform that uses carbon dioxide, sunlight, and microalgae to create food ingredients.What made this episode especially memorable for me is that Arborea’s story unexpectedly connected to one of my own London memories.When I first moved to London 5 years ago, I remember seeing Arborea’s beautiful bionic chandelier at the V&A Museum. I had no idea the company behind that installation would come back into my life years later — this time as a live climate-tech business I’d meet and record with at Innovation Zero.That moment made me reflect on something bigger:sometimes we don’t know whether a business can truly scale until time proves it. Sometimes what begins as an extraordinary piece of art or an experimental idea becomes an industrial platform, a real company, and a real commercial story.In this episode, we talk about:- how BioSolar Leaf works- how Arborea uses CO₂ + sunlight + microalgae- why Kaly describes it like a kind of “magic tree”- how the company evolved from the V&A bionic chandelier to industrial scale-up- why this feels like such a strong example of the Season 5 theme: Climate Tech Is Just Good BusinessNote: Some visual sequences in this episode are AI-assisted conceptual animations created to help explain the technology. They are not intended to represent actual Arborea facility footage unless otherwise stated.Learn more about Arborea: https://arborea.io/The Bionic Chandelier: https://www.julianmelchiorri.com/Bionic-Chandelierhttps://www.vam.ac.uk/event/1K6b2QKe/exhale-bionic-chandelier-ldfIf you enjoy these short, human conversations with the founders, scientists, and operators building the future of climate tech, I’d love for you to subscribe.#ClimateTech #FoodTech #Microalgae #CO2 #Arborea #BioSolarLeaf #InnovationZero #BiteSizeClimateTechBite-Size Climate Tech makes complex climate solutions simple, human, and engaging.Support Season 5:https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/supportLearn more about Bite-Size Climate Tech:https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-techHosted by Lydia ChenProduced by Day Zero ProductionFollow Bite-Size Climate Tech:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bite_size_climatetechLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/bite-size-climate-tech/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/02aADu5pkKjlVFGTxUNT5W?si=0b3c9a44c6db453bHave a guest suggestion, partnership idea, or climate tech story we should cover?Write to Lydia at [email protected] Bite-Size Climate Tech is an independent climate technology show making hard ideas easier to understand. Each episode explores one climate solution through plain-English explanations, founder stories, practical business questions, and a little help from CLI, our curious climate mascot.Season 5 asks a simple question:What does it take for climate technology to move from lab to market?Subscribe, share, and support the show if you want more clear, human, and useful climate storytelling.© 2026 Day Zero Production Limited. All rights reserved.

What happens to an EV battery after it stops powering a car?

In the opening episode of Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5, Lydia speaks with Guillermo Garcia, President and CEO of Samsar Resources, about battery circularity, reuse, and the company’s NthLife™ approach.

Samsar designs, inspects, and repurposes batteries so they can keep creating value across new applications instead of being discarded too early.

We talk about why battery reuse is not just good for the planet, but also good business, how to explain the idea through a Toy Story analogy, and what it takes for climate technology to move from lab to market.

This episode kicks off Season 5’s new theme: Climate Tech Is Just Good Business.

Bite-Size Climate Tech makes complex climate solutions simple, human, and engaging.

Learn more about Samsar Resources:

https://www.samsarresources.com/

Support Season 5:

https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support

Learn more about Bite-Size Climate Tech:

https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech

Hosted by Lydia Chen

Produced by Day Zero Production

Season 5 of Bite-Size Climate Tech is almost here.This time, we’re going from lab to market.Because climate tech is not just about brilliant science. It is about building solutions people can understand, trust, fund, buy, and scale.Or, as CLI would put it:Climate tech is just good business.Episode 1 lands Monday.Bite-Size Climate Tech makes complex climate solutions simple, human, and engaging.Support Season 5:https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/supportLearn more about Bite-Size Climate Tech:https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-techLearn more about Samsar Resources:https://www.samsarresources.com/Hosted by Lydia ChenProduced by Day Zero ProductionFollow Bite-Size Climate Tech:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bite_size_climatetechLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/bite-size-climate-tech/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/02aADu5pkKjlVFGTxUNT5W?si=0b3c9a44c6db453bHave a guest suggestion, partnership idea, or climate tech story we should cover?Write to Lydia at [email protected] Bite-Size Climate Tech is an independent climate technology show making hard ideas easier to understand. Each episode explores one climate solution through plain-English explanations, founder stories, practical business questions, and a little help from CLI, our curious climate mascot.Season 5 asks a simple question:What does it take for climate technology to move from lab to market?Subscribe, share, and support the show if you want more clear, human, and useful climate storytelling.© 2026 Day Zero Production Limited. All rights reserved.

In this Bite‑Size Climate Tech finale, Dr Anna de Vries takes us from lab bench to lemonade stand to explain how photoacids could make carbon capture cheaper and greener. Traditional systems use heat or electricity to release CO₂, but Anna’s solution uses light‑reactive molecules that switch from alkaline to acidic under sunlight. In darkness they flip back, allowing CO₂ to be captured again. This swing cycle runs at ambient temperature and pressure and requires far less energy than conventional methods.

Along the way, we explore how this new science ties into pop culture (yes, there’s a K‑pop “soda pop” reference), why a young researcher chose climate tech over other paths, and how a cultural shift among the wealthiest could drive climate action. Anna closes the season with a simple message: no impact is too small.