Share
The Unshakeables podcast from Chase for Business and iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio dives into the unbelievable “What are we gonna do now?” moments that changed everything for small business owners. From mom-and-pop coffee shops to auto-detailing garages, every small business owner knows that the journey is full of the unexpected. A single make-or-break experience can change the course of your business forever. Those who stand firm in their resolve have a special name. We call them The Unshakeabl ...
…
continue reading
Manage episode 515192677 series 3340929
Content provided by SimpliFlying. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by SimpliFlying or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://staging.podcastplayer.com/legal.
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Mar Fernández-Méndez, founder of MacroCarbon and professor at the University of Bremen, about her journey from Arctic ice researcher to seaweed entrepreneur.
Dr. Fernández shares how she's turning pelagic sargassum into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) while creating a carbon-negative process that enhances marine biodiversity.
Dr. Fernández discusses:
- How Sargassum differs from other algae approaches, avoiding the pitfalls that have plagued microalgae biofuel attempts for decades.
- MacroCarbon's integrated biorefinery that produces multiple revenue streams: bio-stimulants for agriculture, biochar for permanent carbon sequestration, carbon black for tyres and batteries, and ultimately SAF through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.
- The company's unique approach to hydrogen production, generating its own hydrogen internally rather than requiring external green hydrogen inputs.
- Competitive economics at scale: producing SAF for lower than current market biofuel prices, while being species-agnostic and able to use any brown or green seaweed.
- The roadmap from pilot to first-of-a-kind commercial facility in the Canary Islands, then expansion to Morocco, Azores, Cape Verde, and the Caribbean.
- Balancing academia and entrepreneurship: maintaining her professorship while commercialising proven technology, and the parallels between academic grant-writing and startup fundraising.
- The importance of storytelling in deep tech, moving beyond just having good data to communicating vision effectively for investors.
- The "BlueSaf Plus" vision for 2035: carbon-negative biofuels that enhance marine biodiversity by maintaining floating ecosystems, proving we can have both healthy oceans and sustainable aviation.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book 'Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2'. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.
Links & more:
152 episodes
))
