Rooted in Change

PFAS has already made a number of appearances on this show, but safely eliminating these toxic "forever chemicals" and other micropollutants remains a massive challenge. Finding the exact microorganisms capable of degrading them is like finding a needle in the haystack, which is why the industry still heavily relies on costly, unsustainable disposal methods like incineration. CellX replaces these outdated practices by capturing and scaling unique bacterial consortia to break down these pollutants biologically.

Positioning themselves as a comprehensive biosolutions company rather than just a PFAS remediation startup, they use patented microtechnology to deploy these bacteria to treat both industrial wastewater and contaminated soils. Estelle joins the podcast to talk about how they managed to discover these rare bacterial degraders, the mechanics behind their biological treatment, and why the Zurich ecosystem provided the perfect foundation to spin off the company.

CellX

Decarbonizing high-temperature industrial heating remains one of the hardest challenges in the energy transition, often requiring massive amounts of fossil fuels. The industry continues to rely on traditional kilns that waste huge amounts of energy heating the surrounding air and walls, until now. ILLUTHERM replaces these outdated, carbon-heavy methods by introducing a breakthrough digital solution: heating with blue LED light. By generating heat directly inside the material itself, this highly precise technology can bring materials from 0 to over 1000°C in just a matter of seconds, maximizing efficiency and enabling completely CO2-neutral industrial processing. Lukas talks about how he first came across this groundbreaking idea, how fast the company has managed to scale and ILLUTHERM's ambitious plans going forward to revolutionize industrial heat.

www.illutherm.com

Managing industrial waste without relying on energy-intensive methods remains one of the biggest challenges for the environment, often resulting in pollutants simply being moved from one place to another. The industry continues to rely on these traditional remediation techniques. MycoMine harnesses the natural capabilities of fungi to break down harmful compounds at a molecular level. Deployed through scalable, modular systems, this biological solution transforms toxic pollutants into harmless water, carbon dioxide, and biomass, creating a flexible and measurable treatment for global industries. Magnus, MycoMine's CEO, joins the podcast to talk about the biology behind their fungal technology, the shift toward natural remediation and the company's vision for sustainable waste management.

MycoMine

Keeping barnacles and algae off of ship hulls without poisoning the water remains a massive challenge for the maritime industry, often requiring polluting chemicals. The industry continues to rely on these toxic paints. BioHalo replaces these outdated coatings by using biotechnology to create safe, eco-friendly alternatives. By rethinking the chemistry from the ground up, BioHalo produces a highly effective barrier that stops marine growth, prevents ship drag, and slashes fuel emissions, while eliminating harmful ocean pollutants. Johann, BioHalo's CEO, talks about the biotechnology behind their breakthrough product, the importance of replacing toxic chemicals in marine environments and the company's vision for a clean maritime future.

BioHalo

Aligning solar energy production with actual grid demand remains one of the hardest challenges in the energy transition, often resulting in peak generation when we need it the least. The industry continues to rely on traditional, tilted rooftop arrays. Over Easy Solar replaces these conventional setups by introducing vertical, double-sided solar panels. By optimizing these arrays for east-west installations to generate power from both sides of the glass, Over Easy Solar achieves an industry-leading bifaciality of 96%. This innovative design maximizes energy production precisely during the morning and evening peak hours when the grid demands it most. Trygve joins the podcast to talk about the idea behind their vertical arrays, why the product is so crucial for the energy transition and their niche in green roofs.

Over Easy Solar

When we think about climate change, we most of the time think about CO2. But neutralizing methane, a gas with an even higher global warming potential, when it is too spread out to simply catch and burn remains a massive challenge for global climate efforts. The industry continues to rely on traditional methods like flaring that only work on highly concentrated leaks. Sixteen44 replaces these limited approaches by introducing a unique technology to safely break down dilute methane right at the source. Sixteen44 acts as a high-tech fire extinguisher for hotspots like landfills and mines, permanently eliminating the methane and significantly reducing its warming impact. William, Sixteen44's co-founder, joins the podcast to talk about the technology behind their breakthrough process, the importance of targeting emission hotspots and the company's ambitious roadmap.

Sixteen44 website

Managing extraneous water and optimizing sewer networks remains one of the hardest challenges in the water industry, requiring costly and labor-intensive monitoring. Utilities continue to rely on these inefficient traditional methods. Pluvion changes that by introducing intelligent, AI-driven software to the wastewater sector. By analyzing data from existing level sensors to efficiently detect and localize water infiltration, Pluvion provides a cost-effective system that enables real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance. Philipp, Pluvion's CEO and co-founder, talks about the technology behind their breakthrough product, the power of real-time data and the company's vision for a sustainable water future.

Pluvion

Storing and transporting renewable hydrogen remains one of the hardest challenges of the energy transition, requiring complex and expensive high-pressure tanks. The industry continues to rely on these inefficient methods. Iron Energy replaces traditional tanks by turning hydrogen into a stable, solid energy carrier. By reacting hydrogen with iron oxide to safely lock the energy into metallic iron, Iron Energy allows for indefinite storage and releases almost 100% of the injected hydrogen on demand simply by adding steam. Daniel, Iron Energy's co-founder, joins the podcast to talk about his unusual journey from finance to deep tech, the company's scale-up journey and why their business model works so well.

Iron Energy

Global climate goals require massive amounts of carbon removal. Therefore, we need to find scalable, permanent solutions. Many efforts continue to rely solely on land-based technologies. Planeteers unlocks the planet's largest natural carbon sink by enhancing the ocean's ability to safely absorb and store CO2. By operating at the intersection of ocean science and entrepreneurship, Planeteers provides a vital carbon removal method that permanently locks away emissions while actively combating ocean acidification. Frank, Planeteers' Founder and Managing Director, joins the podcast to talk about his decision to leave the corporate world, how the company plans to scale and what motivates him to keep going.

Planeteers

The traditional cement industry relies on proven chemistry and typically looks for minor process improvements rather than fundamental change. This has contributed to the fact that, until now, the industry has produced high CO2 emissions. Cemvision reinvents the process from the ground up by replacing virgin limestone with recycled industrial residues. But creating green cement is only part of the equation - in such a logistics-heavy business, figuring out how to actually get the physical product to the customer is a critical, often overlooked challenge. Oscar, Cemvision's CEO, joins the podcast to talk about bringing true core innovation to a traditional industry, solving the massive logistics puzzle, and what it was like to meet Bill Gates a few weeks ago.

Cemvision