Deep Blue BioTech

Very excited to share that I just joined Cohort 2.0 of Science Creates Engineering Biology Accelerator Programme representing Deep Blue BioTech. This is the only UK-wide accelerator dedicated to supporting entrepreneurial scientists in #EngineeringBiology, and it is delivered in partnership with UK Research and Innovation. This week I have been in Bristol for a 5-day Founder Bootcamp and the program will run over the next 9-weeks with opportunity to access equity-free funding at the end of the program while also engaging and gaining insights from leading-VCs in the deep tech space like Deep Science Ventures and SCVC. I’m amazed by the innovative and scientific genius of my fellow innovators in this journey. We are particularly proud as this reinforces the relevance of our #Cyanobacteria technology platform to deliver UK’s national vision for Engineering Biology and the big impact we can make through our superior #GreenChemicals in the marketplace and mainly for the planet. Thanks to Francis Lister, Lucy McGowan, Harry Destecroix, Catherine Fletcher and the whole Science Creates team for believing in our proposal and for making the journey very smooth! Stay tuned for more updates!

💡 Very Interesting article from Héctor Garcia Martin, PhD at Berkeley Lab on how AI & Automation can accelerate the #SyntheticBiology journey from lab to commercialisation from 10 years to less than 1. It is great to see that we are no longer discussing the 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 but we are now more focused in the 𝒉𝒐𝒘. Synthetic Biology is now clearly one of the best alternatives to manufacturing sustainable ingredients and materials to create a net-zero future. The problem was always how slow and expensive that process was but the latest developments in leveraging computational models and other tools are starting to pave the way to make these solutions ubiquitous across many industries, faster. We share this belief at Deep Blue BioTech and our work and path to landing our #GreenChemicals in the market have been massively accelerated by leveraging these tools in a precise way. Let's do more, let's do better and let's do faster... https://lnkd.in/dKYkxpzJ

🌟 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 1 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡! 🌟 On May 31st, 2023, we incorporated Deep Blue BioTech with Andrej & Tim. We are officially 1 year old! 🎉 Over the past year, we've embarked on an incredible journey of innovation, collaboration, and growth, from pioneering breakthroughs in #SyntheticBiology to building a passionate and dedicated team. I’m beyond proud of what we have accomplished, not only WHAT, but mainly the HOW of each step, pivot and decision that has been made so far. Here's to a year filled with: 🔬 Cutting-edge research and development 🌱 Sustainable and impactful solutions 🤝 Strong partnerships and collaborations 🚀 A dedicated team of visionaries and experts (looking at you Josie McQuillan & Fraser Andrews) We couldn't have reached this milestone without the continuous support of the inspiring ecosystem of advisors, partners, mentors and clients who make the Deep Blue BioTech family larger day by day. Thank you for believing in our vision and being part of our journey. (Carbon13, Alistair McCormick, David Lea-Smith, Ruby Tan-Walker, Michael Langguth, 👩🔬 Stephanie Alys, Jérome Joaug, Chris Coleridge, Sara Holland, Fiona Mischel, Claire Wolstencroft, Lewis Needham, James McGilvray, David Bott, Alya M., Jack Weaver, and many more) I won’t say something new by saying the journey can feel daunting at times, and that you need to truly believe in your vision as sometimes you’ll feel lost, but doing what we do reassures me that if we’re successful, the world will be a better place. Going through that journey with outstanding professionals and incredible humans such as Andrej and Tim, makes those times easier. And I love telling my kids what we do, that’s a bonus! As we look forward to the future, we're excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible in biotechnology to create a superior generation of #GreenChemicals. Together, let's regenerate the planet! Stay tuned for more exciting updates and breakthroughs! #DeepBlueBioTech #Anniversary #Innovation #Biotechnology #TeamWork #Growth #Sustainability #FutureForward Here's to many more years of success and impact! 🥂

🌟 Happy Friday to all!! 🌟 What a week this has been! This download is quite packed. First, it started with two insightful and intense days at Imperial College London for the Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation Greenhouse Bootcamp. Deep Blue BioTech was selected to attend it where we focus with Andrej Ondracka on our business model and amplifying our Climate Impact through our #GreenChemicals. We were amazed to see the quality of ideas in several climate verticals and the high potential for synergies in the Undaunted community and ,happily, how our solution is differentiated and needed. We also attended the Climate Connection dinner organised together with 4Change Marketing where a bunch of founders, investors, activists and enablers met to interchange ideas and keep strengthening a larger climate community. Thanks Juliette Devillard, Tess Cohen and Johanna Andersson for the invitation. It was great also to see Nick Valenzia & Sam Duke again. The last 3 days were in #Malmo with stunning warm and sunny weather. Firstly, I visited the Simris Group algae farm in Hammenhög to keep strengthening the partnership with the two organisations as we keep preparing a faster path to commercialisation by de-risking our scale-up. This factory holds an impressive 126.000 litres capacity of #Photobioreactors and uses renewable energy and purified waste CO2 that is upcycled to make the #Cyanobacteria grow. This one-in-a-kind facility is perfect to move from lab to scale up and industrial scale and has years of expertise with these species. Thanks Steven Schapera and Dr Alexis Roberts-McIntosh for your trust and partnership and Chris, Jakob Larsson and Clémence Tennevet for your warm welcome. And lastly, to end on a high, two days of Mashup! Probably one of the most vibrant events between founders and investors I have been lately. Breakthrough ideas in many areas, from 15-year-old founders to NASA scientists, with amazing climate investors like Pale blue dot, H&M Group, Norrsken VC and many more. It was exciting to see the ideas, the panels and the vibe that Nino Subotic, Melinda Elmborg and Per Ögren. It was great to share this with my fellow Carbon13 friends (B. Luke Hodgkinson from Adia, Sylvain Vaquer for Mozaic Earth and Elinor Wakefield OBE from Climate-i, check what they’re doing, is stunning) I hope the photos tell a bit of the story of this great week.

🌟 Happy Friday to all!! 🌟 It’s been 3 months since we moved into our amazing new home at Rothamsted Enterprises. Things have been moving pretty fast and, as the pictures show, we now have a fully equipped lab and the team is driving our work at full speed. Trust me, it is not easy to equip a lab for genetic engineering, but the work done by Andrej Ondracka, Tim Corcoran & Josie McQuillan has been nothing short of outstanding. We are now working on engineering our strain to produce high-value chemicals at lab scale. As a reminder, Deep Blue BioTech is on a journey to manufacture #GreenChemicals out of CO2 by engineering #Cyanobacteria, the most amazing photosynthetic organism on the planet. Our platform's key advantages are: ♻️🌳 𝐖𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐎2 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤 so we don't require external carbon sources that may eventually compete with arable land. 🎯⚗ 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 to deliver on our customer's key needs to deliver superior end products. 🚀 📉𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 products against the current alternatives. Thanks to everyone at Rothamsted Enterprises & Rothamsted Research for your support in accelerating our journey. Also special thanks for our amazing and supportive neighbours at Brilliant Planet. Onwards & Upwards!

Hej all! 🇸🇪 I'll be in Malmö next week at Mashup sharing the work we have been doing at Deep Blue BioTech. Let me know if you're going to be there too :) I would love to engage with founders, investors and operators in the #DeepTech #BioTech space. We are engineering microalgae to make #GreenChemicals out of CO2, interested? Let me know. Special mention to Melinda Elmborg & Nino Subotic for crafting this amazing event and bringing this bunch together to drive change. #SyntheticBiology #NetZero #NetZeroChemicals #MashUp #Malmo

🎉 Exciting Friday News at Deep Blue BioTech! 🎉 I am thrilled to announce that Josie McQuillan has joined our team as a Senior Scientist, focusing on our Strain Engineering roadmap. Josie brings a wealth of experience and expertise in #SyntheticBiology, with a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Sheffield. During her doctoral studies, Josie developed innovative metabolic engineering tools aimed at enhancing the synthesis of high-value products in microalgae, showcasing her dedication to pushing the boundaries of biotechnology. Following her PhD, Josie further honed her skills as a Post Doctoral Research Associate, where she played a pivotal role in a project funded by the US Department of Energy. Her work involved applying proteomics to develop and understand a modular microbial consortium, which included cyanobacteria, our organism of interest here at Deep Blue BioTech. Since joining our team, Josie has hit the ground running, demonstrating her exceptional drive and resourcefulness. She has already played a key role in finalising the equipment of our laboratory in Rothamsted Enterprises and has accelerated our strain engineering work, setting a high standard for excellence and innovation. Please join me in welcoming Josie to the Deep Blue BioTech family! Her expertise and passion for advancing biotechnology will undoubtedly move us forward as we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the field. #SyntheticBiology #Biotechnology #Innovation #NewHire Tim Corcoran Andrej Ondracka

Synthetic Biology is one of the most promising technologies to decarbonise chemicals, among many industries. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚? This article (https://lnkd.in/ddFApSvv) was shared with me by Andrej Ondracka, one of my co-founders. It pressure-tests exactly that idea so we can get realistic on what we can achieve and mainly, how to achieve it. It is a bit long, so below are my key highlights: 💥 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: Despite promises of reducing the chemical industry’s carbon footprint through bio-manufacturing, the actual impact has been minimal. Efforts haven't been able to tackle the big-volume chemicals. 💰 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐮𝐩: Biomanufacturing start-ups faced challenges in competing with petrochemical giants, particularly during periods of low oil prices. Many companies failed or pivoted towards higher-margin products, such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, rather than large-scale commodity chemicals. 🎢 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬: Synthetic biology firms are renewing claims about replacing petrochemicals, but scepticism remains regarding the timeline and feasibility. Incremental improvements in microbial strains and processes are seen as crucial for gradually entering commodity markets, but significant technological advancements are needed for cost-effective competition with petrochemicals. ⚙️ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Lessons from failed ventures emphasise the importance of starting with smaller markets and higher-margin products before attempting to enter larger commodity markets. Slow, incremental progress is seen as more viable than ambitious but unrealistic goals. 🚀 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥: Transitioning the chemical industry away from fossil fuels may require both technological advancements and supportive policies. Carbon pricing and subsidies for sustainable alternatives could incentivise the adoption of biobased chemicals, while advancements in technology and alternative feedstocks offer potential solutions to reduce emissions. Our journey with Deep Blue BioTech validates much of the above but we know that this is still one of the best pathways to the cleanest way to do chemicals and that to do so, we need to take the technologies out of the lab and put it in everyday life. And, for better or worse, that's what we're doing. Are you on this same journey? Share your thoughts... #SyntheticBiology #NetZeroChemicals #EngineeringBiology

Michael Langguth shared this brilliant article from Voyager Ventures with me on the relevance of the Chemical Industry for our modern lives and what tangible actions can be taken to decarbonise it efficiently. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 3 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐭: ⚗ 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒃𝒊𝒈: The journey of rethinking these basic building blocks of everyday life needs to be envisioned at their full scale, so, the earliest we can get our solutions out of the lab and make them work at an Industrial Level, the closer we will get to what we really need. 📈 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚: While Ammonia has remained quite stable groups like High-Value Chemicals have consistently growth 30% YoY since 2010. 🔬 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒔: A key strategy for Decarbonising Chemicals is thinking in different feedstocks and sources of Carbon. From Biomass to CO2, avoiding fossil fuels as a carbon source is a must. I would add, to the last point, that the potential of #SyntheticBiology to effectively use alternative feedstocks, and photosynthetic organisms, like #Cyanobacteria, can be an energy-efficient and highly productive way to create High-Value Chemicals using CO2 as the main feedstock. In Deep Blue BioTech we are doing just that, and we strongly believe that the next generation of #GreenChemistry will need to accomplish all that while making those products superior and cool to move at the pace that this transition needs. Well done Voyager Ventures (Sarah Sclarsic / Sierra Peterson / Leonardo Banchik) for surfacing this relevant conversation.

🌟 Deep Blue BioTech in Paris - 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌟 It was very exciting and encouraging to spend the last couple of days at the in-cosmetics Global event in Paris. After spending 20 years of my life in the Beauty Industry from the Brand & Innovation side it was quite interesting to see the industry from an ingredient supplier perspective. If anything, what I saw these days just reinforces that Deep Blue BioTech’s vision and value proposition is spot on what the market needs and brings novelty to an industry always eager to get it. 💡 My three key takeaways from these days: 🌿 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝: What some years ago was around the use of natural ingredients, now advanced science has taken this space by storm. It is still around harnessing the power of nature but progressed, enhanced and advanced with deep tech. Biotechnology is the key engine powering this. 🌍 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲: The next wave of Beauty Ingredients is going to be sustainable and transparent by design, and that theme and relevance were clearly shown in the space dedicated to it (The Sustainability Zone) and the keynote and technical seminars around it. The potential for this industry to be the first one that positions sustainability as a driver of superiority is clear, and its business case is robust. ⚗ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: While there are many new actives and ingredients, the focus in the industry cornerstone ingredients was very clear. Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen, Retinol and Squalene are still at the very heart of scientific developments. Obviously with innovation and enhanced properties and delivery systems, but still there as old oaks. Great to see in this front the innovations from Givaudan, Evonik and Bloomage and also found friends like Cambrium already bringing their collagen to these events. Contact us if you want to know how our products can bring more novelty to the #GreenChemistry space. #SyntheticBiology #Cyanobacteria #NetZeroChemicals Andrej Ondracka Tim Corcoran