We spend about 90 percent of our lives indoors, yet the air inside our homes and offices is often far more polluted than the air outside. Volatile organic compounds—better known as VOCs—are constantly emitted by furniture, cleaning products, and even the very walls around us. Formaldehyde, benzene, toluene—these chemicals sound like something you’d find in an industrial park, but they’re actually in the places where we eat, sleep, and work. 

Well, what if nature could give us a hand here? What if plants, and even microbes, could be supercharged to clean our air at a level that truly makes a difference? That’s exactly the mission of today’s guest: Patrick Torbey, CEO and co-founder of Neoplants. His company is using synthetic biology to enhance houseplants and their soil microbes with built-in air purification superpowers. 

Right now, they are offering microbial powders called Power Drops to mix with water and sprinkle onto the soil of your own houseplants to super-charge their air purifying capacity. I already ordered mine and am using them now. 

They also offer Neo Px, which is their all-in-one plant and microbe duo, including a Marble Queen Pothos. 

The bottom line is that they claim their technology can make plants up to 30 times more effective at cleaning the air in our homes and offices than the plants we currently have today.  Their systems don’t just filter air pollution but actually metabolize it into harmless compounds.

In this episode, Patrick and I have a wide-ranging conversation about topics like synthetic biology, science fiction, nature vs. nurture, and of course, how his company’s tech will both make money and make the world a better place. Already the company has raised more than $20 million in venture capital, with more still yet to come. 

So, if you’ve ever wondered how science, business, and sustainability can come together to solve a problem hiding in plain sight—or in this case, plain smell—you won’t want to miss this conversation. 

Discussed in this episode

• You can order Neoplants’ microbes for your houseplants’ soil here.

• Our past podcast episodes with Pivot Bio (nitrogen-enhancing microbes) and Living Carbon (rapid-growth trees).

• Patrick discussed how reading Cosmos changed his life. There was also a 1980 TV Series by Sagan called Cosmos and an updated remake in 2014 by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

• Patrick discusses how China is planting forests outside cities to improve air quality.

• Patrick recommends reading science fiction, leading Paul to recommend a book he recently read, Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.

More about Patrick Torbey

Patrick Torbey is the co-founder and CEO of Neoplants, a Paris-based synthetic biology startup, engineering plants’ genomes and microbiomes to have a positive impact on the air we breathe. Patrick has a PhD in genetic editing from ENS Paris, his expertise spans molecular biology, biotechnology, and entrepreneurship. He drove Neoplants R&D efforts for many years as CTO, and is now leading the company. Patrick is passionate about taking the “fi” out of “sci-fi.” He is fascinated by the potential of deep technologies to change the world for the better, and convinced that we need more and better GMOs to face the challenges of today in a sustainable way.