We’ve been very focused on B2B software of late in our startup profiles, so let’s look at some deep tech this week, shall we?

Today we meet Neo-Fossil, which is using ancient fossils to help build a carbon-negative future.

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– Martin

Neo-Fossil wants to harness the carbon secrets of ancient fossils

We previously looked at a startup using biomaterials to store away CO2 in the past, so now let’s meet another which is exploring doing a similar thing in a different way.

Neo-Fossil draws inspiration from (unsurprisingly!) fossils to help it create new biomaterials.

The idea is that chemical compounds made from CO2 absorbed by certain ancient plants exist to this day in the plants’ fossils. The fact they’ve persisted for millions of years suggests they could make great candidates to create new materials that can absorb and lock away CO2 from the atmosphere.

“Because we're biologists, we ask what genetic components we need to build those compounds so that we can take that clever pathway that plants have already harnessed,” says Neo-Fossil COO, Bethany Eldridge.

Neo-Fossil’s process involves using machine learning to find optimal candidate compounds, and then engineering fast-growing bacteria with plant DNA to produce them. The compounds can then be extracted from the bacteria and sold as carbon-negative products for use in things like concrete aggregates and insulation. The startup has already begun working on its first compound.

“The compound we're looking at is produced when plants ‘breathe in’ carbon dioxide and they break down that into carbon and oxygen, and the carbon is locked up in this very carbon-hungry compound with a lot of really interesting chemical bonds that keep it really stable and make it really, really durable,” explains Neo-Fossil CEO Joshua Rees-Garbutt.

The story so far

Rees-Garbutt has a PhD from the University of Bristol in the field of genetic engineering. He later switched focus to climate change mitigation. But the two sides of his career came together when he saw an ‘Engineering Biology’ accelerator programme advertised by Science Creates in 2023. He successfully pitched an idea that formed the basis of what Neo-Fossil is today.

Eldridge met Rees-Garbutt when she was doing her own PhD in the field of genetics, molecular biology, and plant science. Drawn to the idea of commercialising research, she then spent some time in the agtech world before pivoting again into science communication at London’s Natural History Museum.

It was at the museum where she developed an interest in the science of climate change while developing a gallery on the subject.

The pair have come together with third-cofounder Kieren Sharma, who is doing a PhD in AI for synthetic biology and brings his machine learning skills to the business.

So far, the trio have finished an MVP of the software that underpins their process, opened a lab, and begun to engineer bacteria.

The next step will be to gradually scale up production of biomaterial from the lab bench to the point where it can be made in quantities of thousands of litres in large bioreactors.

Over time, the Neo-Fossil team wants to adapt its technology for a wider range of use cases. These could include supercapacitors, and even in bioengineered plants.

“By analogy, we're basically using the Tesla development model, where we're entering this high-end market for biomaterials and using that to fund our transition to editing other hosts at the low end, like plants,” says Rees-Garbutt.

“We're using carbon credits throughout, to either fund our development or enhance our profitability, but eventually, in these plant-based hosts, or photosynthetic hosts, the carbon credits themselves will be profitable.”

While the carbon market is voluntary. Rees-Garbutt believes from conversations with industry that it will become compulsory in the coming years.

“There is currently predicted to be a gap of 185 million tons annually of carbon that needs to be removed from the atmosphere. So we need to be able to scale up and fulfil those carbon removal requirements.”

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