Scaling Sustainable Biomass

The world will need a lot of biomass to achieve net zero. Bio-based fuels and chemicals will be a vital strategy to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, such as aviation, chemical industry, and building materials. Biomass can also unlock cost-competitive biogenic CDR, clean firm power where other options are limited, and even both (as BECCS).

Yet, this ambition is challenged by supply constraints. By 2050, we anticipate sustainable biomass demand to far outstrip supply. Moreover, land availability is limited by many competing uses, such as agriculture, reforestation and other ecosystem services (44% of habitable land being used for agriculture).

2nd and 3rd generation biomass feedstocks are promising options to bridge this supply gap. However, agricultural and forestry residues, municipal solid waste, algae and seaweed all face unique significant hurdles, across logistics, geographic variabilities, and a scarcity of cost competitive processing technologies for effective utilisation.

We believe that purpose-grown energy crops can be engineered to reach extremely high yield even on marginal lands — minimising competition with food production.

The Opportunity

We are developing a new plant biotech platform to massively increase sustainable biomass supply for clean fuels, chemicals, and carbon removal. We use molecular biology to maximise the yield of purpose-grown energy crops on marginal lands.

Our vision is to turn unproductive agricultural land across the world into the biggest source of sustainable feedstock for biogas, syngas, sustainable aviation fuels, materials and bioenergy with CCS (aka BECCS) while preserving and improving the soil. Our approach is compatible with regulations in most relevant jurisdictions, including New Genomic Techniques in the EU.

We have identified specific plant species and engineering targets, developed a credible technical roadmap, and validated our technical approach. On the market side, we have de-risked our priority applications by engaging with top bioenergy producers, local farmers, and potential off-takers in key geographies. Now, all we need is you!

We are looking for a CEO and Co-Founder. Your role will be broad, across product, sales, partnership development, operations, fundraising (equity, non-dilutive), team building, supplier management, scale up, etc. The best candidate will have the creativity, discipline and motivation to evaluate multiple approaches in order to maximise impact.

You will join a stellar CTO and Co-Founder: PhD in plant biotechnology from one of the best institutes in the world, with broad experience across synthetic biology, genetic engineering and a first entrepreneurial journey in climate tech.

Skills & Profile

We are looking for an entrepreneurial individual with a passion for biomass, energy, agriculture, and plant biotech — and a driving motivation to mitigate climate change.

Must have: experience in some of the CEO type activities listed above, exposure in climate tech, good literacy in science and engineering.

Example of relevant backgrounds:

Former startup founder / operator / VC - in biotech, agtech, energy or bio-based products
OR Industry experience in the biomass-to-energy value chain - biofuels, biogas, etc
OR Industry experience in agriculture - ranging from partnership developments with farmers, seed production and securing the right lands.

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t feel you meet all requirements. Above all, we value intelligence, creativity and Founder Potential.

Especially if you recognize yourself below:

You can’t wait to start your own company (or your next one)
You are a pragmatic optimist on a mission to tackle climate change
You are outcome focused and action oriented - you make things happen
You are a great communicator - you can convince others to follow you
You love to break down ambitious goals into actionable milestones
You understand that innovation starts with people - not ideas

What We Offer

As CEO and Co-Founder, you will partner with a Marble Founder in Residence who has been developing this project and will be CTO in the new company. You will have the opportunity to meet before making any big commitment of course!

We offer (among other things)

A €3,000 monthly allowance during your participation in the programme
A €250,000 pre-seed investment on startup creation if you’re successful. You and your team will own 80% of the company at pre-seed.
Full-stack support in our venture creation programme
Mentorship and guidance at every step of the way
Hands on support across technology and market research, landing interviews with experts and customers, techno economics, roadmap and scale-up strategy, IP strategy, team building, advisor sourcing, and more
Access to an unparalleled network across science, industry, talent, investors, mentors, climate tech founders, curated vendors and suppliers
Access to our research insights, knowledge base and resources
Weekly check-ins, work sessions in our Paris HQ (or remote) and continuous peer learning with other programme participants
Seed Fundraising support after the programme. Introductions to the best seed investors from our network and help with term sheet negotiation.
Founder Visa sponsorship if you wish to relocate to France. Remote participation is possible, preferably from Europe and with regular in-person meetings.

We believe that a diverse group of minds is key to solving the climate crisis. We encourage women and people of colour to apply.

Studies have shown that under-represented candidates are less likely to apply unless they feel they meet every single qualification. If you are excited about the opportunity but your experience does not align perfectly - we encourage you to apply anyway. We are committed to a diverse, inclusive, and mission-driven Founder community.

FAQs

For a full list of FAQs, please visit our website.

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