- 13 hours ago
S2 E3 – An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet 🌍🌱
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00:00It kind of looks like we're going to a rave.
00:03I'm a father to two beautiful daughters.
00:06I'm also a husband, a son, a cyclist, a citizen.
00:12Thank you so much. It's going to look amazing.
00:14All right, let's go.
00:17Our inventions have built the world as we know it.
00:21Concrete is the second most used material in the world.
00:25Unfortunately, some of them come with an environmental price tag.
00:28They do a lot of illegal mining on that river.
00:32They know much of the problematicas de contaminación ambiental.
00:35But I believe that our drive to innovate can meet the moment.
00:41Inventors are the key, not only for the environment, but also for the humanity.
00:46We're genetically enhancing plants to absorb metal in the soil.
00:50The moment that you actually have CO2 stored is a very happy moment.
00:55The people and science will see us through.
00:58We're trying to leave the world better than what we found it in.
01:03We changed the world.
01:04This.
01:05This is very nice.
01:06I'm Nikolai Koster-Waldau, and this is an optimist's guide to the planet.
01:10To be human is to innovate.
01:22That is a basic human quality.
01:27Always finding ways to make things work, and we see that over and over again.
01:31Our inventions have given us both wonders of the modern world and threats to our very existence.
01:41Innovation and science is also what gives you hope and reason for optimism,
01:56because there's always someone who's going to, who's able to find a solution, to crack a problem.
02:02One huge challenge here in Lima is that water is too scarce to waste, yet often too polluted to drink.
02:13We always assume that water is in this, whatever pollution goes into it, it's just a drop in the ocean, that classic saying, right?
02:25But what do you do once it's really polluted?
02:27How do you then reverse that?
02:29We're meeting inventors who are taking on the challenge of water pollution.
02:35And the best thing?
02:37My wife Nugaga is with me.
02:40And she makes the show better.
02:43She makes my life better.
02:44Yeah, at least.
02:45I try to.
02:47No, it's on camera.
02:49Yeah, yeah.
02:49Hi.
02:56Marino?
02:57Hi, Nikolai.
02:58And Yoshi, nice to meet you.
03:01It's a pleasure to meet you, Yoshi.
03:03So what's wrong with this?
03:05Yeah, it's beautiful.
03:06Yes.
03:07It's beautiful green water.
03:08Yeah.
03:09I mean, it's beautiful right now, but once we explain what is the problem, you'll be shocked that green is not good.
03:22So this place, what is unique about it?
03:25We're in the village mountains.
03:27And it's one of the most important wetlands in our country.
03:37And it's one of the most important wetlands in the world.
03:39And it's one of the most important wetlands in the world.
03:42It has a huge biodiversity.
03:47It has thousands of migratory plants.
03:53Since ancient times, pre-Inca and Inca times,
03:56it is the major source of water here in Lima,
03:59not only for human consumption,
04:01but also for agricultural aspects.
04:04So, is there a problem here in this water?
04:07What is the problem?
04:08Here in Peru, there are many problems of environmental contamination.
04:12One of the main problems that we have in all of the humidities
04:16are the residuals, industrial, domestic,
04:20and even the same garbage that they have.
04:22It's affecting not only this wetland, but all the wetlands around.
04:27You don't have big wastewater treatment centers here.
04:30The wastewater treatment plants in Peru
04:32are built to only treat 5 to 10% of the wastewater.
04:35There are many specialists who curate humans,
04:39but there are few specialists who curate our own mother nature.
04:43That's why I became a doctor of nature.
04:48You can say, the first job I've done in Peru
04:51is for a love to my Terruño.
04:55I have to ask you, what is this relationship?
04:58Oh, family.
04:59An uncle and...
05:01And nephew.
05:01Yeah.
05:02How long have you guys worked together?
05:04From 2010.
05:05Yeah.
05:06So you were very young when you started.
05:08Yeah.
05:0815 years ago.
05:09As a young teenager.
05:10As a kid.
05:11As a kid, yeah.
05:12For him, it was like, I'm his nephew,
05:14but also kind of like his son.
05:18Since my mom separated from my dad at a very young age,
05:22the only father figure I had was my uncle.
05:24He used to carry me to the wetlands,
05:27so I can learn from nature and to respect it and value it
05:31as the same way he learned from his father, my grandfather.
05:39So, you lived here and then you went to Japan and studied.
05:42Yeah.
05:43What were you studying?
05:43Yeah.
05:44My PhD degree.
05:45Yeah.
05:45It's in treatment of residual water,
05:47of any kind of nanotechnology.
05:50Nanotechnology, I understand that it's very small things.
05:53Nanotechnology, I understand that it's very small things.
05:56Any kind of molecule or component
05:58that is 10,000 times smaller than the normal bubble
06:01that we see in the pseudocans.
06:03Why he started working with that is because
06:05it's very easy to work with the visible parts,
06:08the visible pollutants.
06:09But what happens are the ones that we cannot see on the naked eye.
06:12But today we'll be focusing on the protest technologies we have,
06:15which is the micronutrient bubble system.
06:17How can we see it?
06:18I'm so curious.
06:20So, actually, we need to go to the testing field.
06:26It looks nasty.
06:27It is.
06:29Yeah.
06:31The introduction of polluted water from the wastewater
06:35generates micronutrients and that micronutrient
06:37will contribute to more algae formation.
06:40And because there's more algae formation
06:42and more bacterial formation,
06:44it will take out all the oxygen in the water.
06:47Is there any way to measure how polluted this is?
06:49Of course.
06:52If you want, you can help, Marino.
06:54I would love to help.
06:58It looks like lemonade.
07:00Yeah.
07:00Or morning urine.
07:04You probably won't like the flavor if you drink it.
07:07I can already smell it.
07:14Whenever we talk a healthy level for the biodiversity,
07:18it must be above 10 milligrams per liter.
07:21Per liter.
07:21All right, let's try it.
07:26So, if you see on the screen, it's around seven,
07:29and that means that it's low on oxygen.
07:31How do you clean that?
07:32It's not an easy thing to do, is it?
07:34We don't want to brag about it, but actually, for us,
07:36it's very easy.
07:37I mean, that is a humble brag if ever there was one.
07:39Yeah.
07:40People say, I don't want to brag.
07:41You know you're about to brag.
07:44But I want to seek.
07:45Could you help me in the future?
07:46Yeah, of course.
07:48Can I touch it?
07:49Yes, of course.
07:49So, this actually is our secret formula of organic compounds.
07:53It's called PM, which is a powder that we develop with only plants.
07:58Okay.
07:58It's a little heavy.
08:00It's just easier with just one.
08:01Oh, okay.
08:03So, this is a secret ingredient?
08:05Mm-hmm.
08:07But you told your nephew, right?
08:08No, no, no, no, no.
08:10So, how many people know this?
08:12Uh, only me.
08:19It's just a little tease.
08:20Oh, that's perfect.
08:21Yeah.
08:25A little shakey.
08:26You're seeing the bigger particles right there?
08:29Mm-hmm.
08:29All of the spurs algae are getting gathered up.
08:32Getting thicker and thicker, huh?
08:34Yeah.
08:35The algae we trapped are the algae that are capturing all the oxygen,
08:39which is lethal to the aquatic life.
08:41For us, it's not bad because we can use it for compost.
08:48It's full of nutrients.
08:49It's full of nutrients.
08:50And then you have all this stuff floating on the surface,
08:53and you can just scoop it up.
08:54Yes, like this.
08:54Yeah.
08:55Look at that.
08:56Like this?
08:56Yeah.
08:57You can just grab it.
08:59For me.
08:59Yeah.
09:00No smell.
09:01No smell.
09:02Yeah.
09:03Different.
09:03And now it's much clearer.
09:06But what happens to the invisible components, virus, bacteria,
09:10microorganisms that still lives in this water?
09:13That one will attack with the micronanobubble system.
09:17Would you like to know what a micronanobubble is?
09:19I would very much like to know what a micronanobubble is.
09:22It involves getting into the water?
09:24Yes.
09:25Would you like it?
09:25Yes, of course.
09:26Great.
09:26Oh, yeah.
09:27Let's get in the water.
09:28Okay.
09:31I'm a little too tall for this.
09:33This is very nice.
09:35It's great.
09:37Oh, it's fine.
09:37It's perfect.
09:38Let's go.
09:38Okay, let's go.
09:39Oh, well, first, the machine.
09:42Yeah, machine.
09:43Oh, my God.
09:46So, when we develop any kind of technology,
09:48we always think that this must not disrupt the natural healing process.
09:52it must boost it.
09:53It must not threaten the good microorganisms,
09:56but kill or eliminate the bad microorganisms.
09:59Okay, let's go to the water.
10:02Okay.
10:06You sink in.
10:08And the smell.
10:09Yeah.
10:09Yeah.
10:09Oh, yeah.
10:10Okay.
10:15I'm not going to dance with you right now.
10:16Come on.
10:17Oh.
10:18Yeah.
10:19Oh.
10:20Oh, my God.
10:21Be careful.
10:39You have to see a difference.
10:40This is a fine bubble.
10:42Yeah.
10:43Yes.
10:47This is a electro madness property.
10:51Is that what.
10:53Can you put your hand here?
10:53So, you can submerge your hand right there.
10:55Ah.
10:55So, you can submerge your hand right there.
10:57So, you can submerge your hand right there.
10:58Yeah.
10:59So, if you feel a little current.
11:00Yeah.
11:01This is a electromagnetic property.
11:02The big difference.
11:02The big difference is that,
11:04the first atom of the nanoburbuja,
11:05is that,
11:07for a molecular size,
11:09it has positive and negative ions.
11:11And, when it has these ions,
11:14it generates an electrostatic cooling,
11:17When the bubbles rise to the surface, the sun's UV rays destroy the attached contaminants.
11:33Also, those bubbles, the nanobubbles, will help oxygen all the lake here.
11:39Do you see all the bubbles?
11:41Yeah.
11:42All over.
11:43Yeah.
11:44So, how long has this been here now?
11:4710 minutes?
11:48Yes.
11:49Yeah.
11:50Ustedes pueden ver una capa blanca, no es cierto?
11:53Ahora sería perfecto utilizar el sustrato orgánico y...
11:57The powder?
11:58Yes.
11:59The magic powder?
12:00Yes, magic powder.
12:07In my kitchen.
12:11Yes, Dominic, you try.
12:12You try.
12:13Okay.
12:14There you go.
12:15Oh my god.
12:27It's empty.
12:28Full.
12:29Fuel.
12:30Look at that.
12:31It's everywhere now, with the foam.
12:32Yeah.
12:33Those floating things, the foam, are the organic particles that are gathered up.
12:49How long will it take for you to clean this whole thing up?
12:52Podemos hacerlo en dos semanas, trabajando, trabajando de manera pareja.
12:57And then, you have to scoop up?
12:59Yeah.
13:00That's a great job though.
13:01Yes.
13:02I have a machine to vacuum.
13:04Yeah, vacuum.
13:05Yeah.
13:06Really?
13:07That's what I thought.
13:08This magic powder, you put it in the water with the cool gun, and then you clean it.
13:19I love the idea that this will work.
13:21And I love the energy of these guys.
13:23Amazing energy.
13:24Everything is possible.
13:25He has a depth of knowledge.
13:27Yeah.
13:28And enthusiasm, which is just what we need.
13:30Very optimistic.
13:31Yeah.
13:32The next time, they're going to have maybe your size.
13:34That would be great.
13:35But we...
13:36In Denmark, we call this...
13:38An Balford.
13:41Oh, a wetsuit?
13:42A wetsuit.
13:43Exactly.
13:44They gave me a wetsuit.
13:46How proud are you of this machine?
13:58And we're up to 70% close to develop that technology.
14:01Oh, so when do you think you'll have that?
14:04We'll call you.
14:05We'll call you.
14:06back to them.
14:14Yeah!
14:15Well...
14:16As an scientist, I'd like to improve the technology so that time can reduceими and be able to
14:19get access to our natural lives as natural命 of control.
14:21What我 mestre are of course, I mean make sure that my goal is to recover all our educated
14:25parts from Peru.
14:26For example bathwater is not edible.
14:29ầ!
14:30It means that it can be breathable.
14:35We have already cleaned with our technology 25 wetlands.
14:40For us, it is important to treat it because it's the greatest gift we can give to the biodiversity here,
14:47the birds, the fishes, the land creatures, and that's for us, for the next generation.
14:53For communities without the infrastructure or resources for water treatment plants,
15:02Marino's invention, if scaled up, could potentially be transformative.
15:10But true change can't stop at the water's edge.
15:15Over the last century, the number of people living in cities has increased dramatically.
15:20By four to five hundred percent.
15:30As more of us crowd into urban spaces, how we live and build matters more than ever.
15:39Rotterdam is known for its bold, modern architecture.
15:42All built in the last 80 years because the city was almost completely destroyed in World War II.
15:50I'm here in Rotterdam and
16:20It's like the commemoration of the Rotterdam Blitz, when German bombers destroyed much of the city during World War II.
16:27Tens of thousands of people lost their homes.
16:30It's a significant day, as people remember that tragic event, and how the city rebuilt itself.
16:50This town and so many towns were completely rebuilt, which speaks to the incredible spirit of humans, right?
17:02Like, you know, Nagastown will come right back up.
17:05Now, what we know is we need so much more construction globally.
17:10The problem, of course, is that it's one of the biggest polluters when it comes to CO2.
17:15Construction drives 36% of global CO2 emissions, and concrete alone makes up 8%.
17:26Now, a startup says it can flip that by reinventing concrete.
17:35Oh, this is very setting.
17:42Marta?
17:43Oh, hi!
17:44I'm sorry.
17:45Hi.
17:46Hi, I'm Niklai.
17:47Hi, I'm Marta.
17:48Nice to meet you.
17:49Nice to meet you.
17:50Welcome to Pebble.
17:51Just like a pebble on the beach.
17:52That's right.
17:53Just like a pebble on the beach.
17:54Welcome.
17:55Safety first.
17:56Safety first?
17:57Oh, I need one of these.
17:58It's going to look amazing.
17:59And here is a safety jacket.
18:01This is fireproof, and also kind of fashionable.
18:04In a nutshell, what do you do?
18:06What do Pebble do?
18:07We turn concrete into a material that can store CO2 forever.
18:11And concrete is, I don't know if you know this, but it's the second most used material in the world.
18:17We use a lot.
18:18We use a lot of it.
18:19And we need to use a lot more in the future.
18:20That's right.
18:21So the more we build, the more we'll pollute.
18:23Unless we can turn it into a carbon sink, and therefore do good by building more.
18:28In concrete, you have three main solid ingredients.
18:31Yeah.
18:32You have cement, which is the big polluter.
18:34You have fine sand, and you have gravel.
18:37Yeah.
18:38And what we do is that we've invented a way to trap CO2 in a substitute for traditional cement.
18:45So what we do here, we harness a process that happens in nature already.
18:52Certain rocks, like olivine, absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.
18:56We just accelerate it by about 10 million times.
18:5910 million times?
19:00Yeah.
19:01Wow.
19:02But it all starts in there?
19:03It all starts in here, yes.
19:04This is our mineralization lab.
19:06Do you know what this reminds me of?
19:08What?
19:09Skin products, when they do campaigns, like a commercial.
19:12There's always people in white lab coats.
19:14And you know they're actors.
19:16Are they actors or are they real?
19:18I'm pretty sure that they're employed by us.
19:21Yes, Luis.
19:22Hi.
19:23How are you doing?
19:24Nice to meet you.
19:25Nicolai, nice to meet you.
19:26Yeah, very nice to meet you.
19:27So you're not an actor?
19:28No, I'm not an actor.
19:29No, no, no.
19:30They didn't pay me to be here beforehand.
19:31So this is all real?
19:32Yeah, this is our real thing.
19:33How long have you been here?
19:34I've been here for one and a half year already.
19:36Uh-huh.
19:37I was lucky to find pebble and that pebble was looking for a researcher.
19:40And what I do here is try to work on the accelerated mineralization process that we're doing here.
19:46That whole thing Marta was talking about, like you have been able to accelerate nature's,
19:52you know, the normal thing that happened in nature by a million times.
19:56Exactly.
19:57But how do you do that?
19:58So shall we walk to the next road?
19:59Yes, let's go.
20:00Let's go.
20:01So everything starts with this.
20:04This is a rock that contains olivine in it, which naturally absorbs CO2 from atmosphere.
20:09We have engineered a way to inject a lot of CO2 into olivine really fast, so it's locked away for good.
20:16You want to see how it's done?
20:17Yes, I want to see how it's done.
20:19So first we have our prototype reactors, which we call coffee cup reactors.
20:24All right, what is going on here?
20:26So right now I'm filling up the coffee cup reactor.
20:29That's very finely ground olivine.
20:32I'm going to put in the secret additives.
20:35You're not going to tell me what it is?
20:37I'm not going to tell you.
20:38No, no, no.
20:39So this is our olivine with the chemicals.
20:42Yeah.
20:43Then I'm injecting CO2, and with the help of the secret additives, it reacts with the olivine.
20:50We are going to increase the pressure and temperature.
20:54All of that olivine will be transformed into new minerals.
20:59And then what happens?
21:02After an hour and a half, this stuff turns up.
21:05It's like this gray slurry.
21:08If we want to make concrete out of our product, we have to convert it back to a powdered form.
21:14All right, so now we create a vacuum, so the whole slurry is going to get pushed through.
21:19Do you have some of this after it's gone through?
21:22Yes.
21:23Okay.
21:24So this is what we're looking at.
21:26This is the final product, which is, you can see it's a bit more fluffy.
21:30Okay.
21:31And this is what stores CO2?
21:33This is the material that already contains CO2.
21:36Yeah.
21:37And this is the material that replaces traditional cement.
21:40It's a lightweight powder that can be used to produce concrete.
21:45And I think this can have a deep impact on society.
21:48With construction materials in general.
21:50Yeah.
21:51Why did you study concrete in the first place?
21:53It's a good question.
21:54Well, concrete, as I told you, if you look around, everything's made of concrete.
21:58I know.
21:59So concrete's a very important piece for our lives.
22:01I come from Brazil.
22:02I think last year we had floodings that had never been seen before.
22:06This can have an immediate impact for my nieces, my nephews, my children in the future.
22:11So it's a very fulfilling thing to do.
22:15The moment that you actually have CO2 stored is just a very happy moment.
22:20It's not just the research.
22:22It's not just for fun.
22:23We're not just playing around.
22:24We're really, really doing this.
22:25You've got to have your hat on.
22:27There you go.
22:29So now we're going to move from a coffee cup scale to a big reaction.
22:50Who's Diego?
22:57In our amazing operations team.
22:59Hi.
23:00Nice to meet you.
23:01Nice to meet you.
23:02I'm very excited.
23:03But now I want to see, this is the big coffee machine.
23:05Exactly.
23:06Let's go to the reactor part.
23:08Where are you from, by the way?
23:09I'm from Colombia.
23:10So I've got Brazil, Poland, Colombia.
23:15It's like 50 nationalities in this small office, I would say.
23:19Wow.
23:20That's incredible.
23:21No one in the world has this kind of technology.
23:23We have a partner that are bringing our CO2 here.
23:26And we inject the CO2 that you see behind that.
23:30And in the future, we're going to scale up end-to-end solution.
23:33That means that we're going to have a system capturing the CO2 from the atmosphere.
23:39So how much do you produce in 24 hours?
23:41In a day, we are producing 3 tons.
23:44We are scaling up to 10 tons.
23:46So in here still.
23:47Yeah.
23:48And in the future, we are scaling up even bigger.
23:50That is incredible.
23:52Where does it come out?
23:53I will tell you.
23:55Be careful.
23:58Can I touch it?
23:59Yeah, you can take it.
24:00That is almost right.
24:01That is 76% dried.
24:07This is what you then put into the concrete?
24:09Correct.
24:10A back of this is one ton.
24:12One ton.
24:13This CO2 is captured here.
24:14So we are capturing around 250 kilos per ton of product.
24:17So one quarter of this is CO2 captured.
24:19Yes, CO2.
24:20Correct.
24:22I'm just applauding.
24:23Yeah.
24:26We have a lot of potential just to grow up everywhere.
24:29It will change the world.
24:31Yes.
24:32Hello again.
24:33Hello again.
24:34So this is where we make sure that the product that is done over there performs in concrete.
24:45Now we are going to measure the strength of this material.
24:48I'm starting to work hard now.
25:03Nice.
25:04Okay.
25:06After all the tests you do, your stuff is as good as anything.
25:10Yes.
25:11That's what we are trying to prove to our customers and that's what we are observing.
25:15And you have the added benefit.
25:18Yes.
25:19This piece here has CO2 that was in the air stored inside it.
25:23And that will be stored?
25:24Permanently.
25:29It's a little souvenir.
25:30Yeah.
25:34Pebble's technology could permanently trap hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 inside the buildings we live and work in.
25:41The potential is obvious.
25:45We are so deep into climate change that we are seeing the effects, right?
25:50Yeah.
25:51The negative effects.
25:52That's right.
25:53The negative effects.
25:54Do you think that we are acting in time?
25:56Are we all too late?
25:58I actually believe that given that it's taken us five decades to make the mess, roughly, five, six decades, let's say.
26:04Yeah.
26:05I think we can actually get rid of the mess in half the time.
26:10Wow, I hope you're right.
26:11I think, I think it's feasible.
26:13And I think it's just about how many brains we put to the task, working hard towards that.
26:24I look at cities, at urban jungles, and I get a lot of anxiety of, you know, what is the environmental footprint that our decisions have brought about.
26:41But also, I'm very hopeful.
26:43I mean, technology, if built for the right reasons and in the right ways, is there to help us thrive.
26:49I'd like to see society move from a place of survival to a place of thriving.
26:54And not just for a select few percent, but actually for a much bigger part of the world.
26:59It's one of the biggest challenges of our time, and a profound change in mindset.
27:12From putting technology first, no matter the cost, to inventions that reverse the damage we have done.
27:18It's a race against time.
27:26We need to make sure innovation benefits everyone, everywhere.
27:31We're on our way to meet an inventor, who has a plan to save the rainforest, ground zero for the climate crisis.
27:50But the weather is not cooperating, so we need to improvise.
27:56The weather is getting bad.
27:58And sometimes, the unplanned moments turn out to be the most meaningful ones.
28:05Thank you so much.
28:26You're welcome.
28:28I don't know what the plan is, but I know there's a reason they call it the rainforest.
28:33You see, this is all forest. I don't know if you actually managed to see a little bit of a river down there.
28:50Sure.
28:51These rivers are a source of life for all the local communities, water, fishing.
28:55They do a lot of illegal mining on that river.
29:00Is it gold, the raft mainly? Or is it?
29:03Are these rivers?
29:04Yeah, they're going for gold.
29:06Okay.
29:08Considering it's illegal, you would think it was much more hidden and secret.
29:12And nobody would know about it, but it was just happening.
29:14Yes, yes.
29:15But you all know about it.
29:16Yes, yes.
29:17As everybody knows, corruption is the sort of thing that is, like, common people like us.
29:22There's very little that we can do.
29:23It's putting ourselves at risk if we did something.
29:26There is a spot ahead that we'll probably be able to stop and have a look if you're interested.
29:36Let's hope the rain stops so we can get the drone out.
29:41I brought you here because this is a safe location for us to try to fly the drone and you can see from above the extent of the damage.
29:51It has been raining, so I don't know how it will be, but we can try.
29:55Sure.
29:57Can I talk to her for a second?
30:01Is that okay?
30:02My name is Nicolai, what's your name?
30:04Janet.
30:05Janet?
30:06Janet.
30:07Is this your place?
30:08No.
30:09No?
30:10No.
30:11Yo vendo snacks.
30:12Oh, you sell the snacks?
30:13Snacks.
30:14Yes.
30:15Those are your snacks?
30:17Yes.
30:18Con chiples, de yuca, de papa, de...
30:21She makes chips out of potato, plantain, yuca.
30:24All right.
30:25All right.
30:31All right.
30:33Maybe you can, can you show me, because we're seeing this.
30:36Can you explain what I'm seeing here?
30:38You can see the machines, yes.
30:40Look at the things.
30:41Even the nature grows, the river grows, and it almost takes them to harm them, but it has changed a lot.
30:51This river goes to the Amazonas.
30:54As I said, once it was beautiful, the plants, the trees.
31:00Now it's not, now it's not like desert.
31:03There are not fish.
31:05This is terrible.
31:06The problem is big.
31:09What can we do here?
31:10Oh, what can we do here?
31:11We can't do anything.
31:12If you speak a lot, it's a lot.
31:14Mucho.
31:16Ah.
31:22God, don't get shut down.
31:24What is this?
31:26Máquinas, máquinas.
31:44Because it's consuming water,
31:46with all those materials
31:48that they use to wash the gold,
31:50I don't know.
31:52Ah. History is repeating itself
31:54again and again. The Spanish came for the gold?
31:56That's correct. Now you're coming for the gold.
31:58It's like constant. Yeah.
32:00It never benefits the people.
32:02Mínimo benefit. Nada.
32:04This is not the only place in Ecuador.
32:06This is happening in many places.
32:08Many places in Ecuador.
32:10The mining we come across in Ecuador
32:18is an age-old problem.
32:20We're sacrificing the environment
32:24for the sake of extracting resources.
32:30But what if we could invent a way
32:32to flip that equation?
32:34Extract resources
32:36and benefit the environment?
32:38Mínimo benefit.
32:40Mínimo benefit.
32:42Mínimo benefit.
32:44Our chance encounter in Ecuador
32:46takes us to France,
32:48where a team of scientists
32:50are working on doing just that.
32:52I think optimism is
32:54not giving up.
32:56That's what I refuse to do.
32:58The idea that we should just like
33:00be complacent and go,
33:02oh, well,
33:04it's all pretty bad,
33:06so there's nothing we can...
33:08Am I going too early?
33:10It's the wrong turn.
33:11See, now this could really give me
33:12cause, Frank.
33:14But I'm still optimistic
33:18that we will make our final destination.
33:22We will just be a little delayed.
33:24We are in an electric car.
33:34We have this massive shift
33:36towards electric cars.
33:40One thing that we need,
33:42of course, batteries,
33:44and a big component of batteries,
33:46we need to mine a lot of nickel.
33:48And mining is dirty.
33:50But we need to mine.
33:52We need to do that.
33:54Which is, of course,
33:56the big paradox.
33:58Around the world,
33:59we mine millions of tons
34:00of metal every year.
34:023.7 million tons of that
34:04are nickel.
34:06It's only gonna skyrocket from here.
34:08It's interesting then, of course,
34:10if you can do it in a way
34:12that's not invasive,
34:14you have to dig up mountains.
34:26Genomines?
34:28Fabian?
34:29Hi.
34:30How are you doing?
34:31I'm good.
34:32So, why is it called Genomines?
34:34Well, it's a wordplay
34:36between genomes and mining
34:39because we are genetically enhancing plants
34:42to absorb metal in the soil.
34:44It's a tricky thing
34:45because we need it.
34:46We need all these metals and minerals.
34:48Yeah.
34:49But we would love it
34:50if we could do it
34:51without the mining bit.
34:52Absolutely.
34:53You're completely correct.
34:54So, how did you discover this?
34:56When I was working on mining,
34:57there were plants growing
34:59on top and around.
35:01Around the mine.
35:02Yeah.
35:03I met with my co-founder, Deli.
35:05She's a doctor in plant biotechnology.
35:06Oh.
35:07And she told me,
35:08oh, actually, I worked on these plants.
35:09I worked on this phenomena,
35:10this genetic phenomena
35:11of hyperaccumulation.
35:12Hyperaccumulation.
35:13Hyperaccumulation.
35:14Exactly.
35:15And the fact that some plants
35:16can absorb this metal
35:18but store it as well.
35:20And at the beginning,
35:21we were very skeptical
35:22because we thought
35:23it sounds a bit like sci-fi.
35:25Yeah.
35:26It does.
35:27It's probably like sci-fi.
35:28Can we go to the...
35:29and look at something?
35:30Yeah, absolutely.
35:32I'm after you.
35:34Well, I don't know where I'm going.
35:37This way.
35:38Yeah.
35:39This way.
35:42Sorry.
35:43This way.
35:44Have you been here before?
35:45No, it's the outside.
35:46You've been here before, right?
35:51Hey, guys.
35:52Hello.
35:53Dali.
35:54Yeah.
35:55That's you.
35:56Hi.
35:57Nice to meet you.
35:58What was your first thought
35:59when you met Henry?
36:00I thought this individual
36:01is equally as crazy as I am.
36:03That's exactly what you said.
36:04And we can actually...
36:05Wow.
36:06Wow.
36:07And we can actually make this work.
36:08We realized very early on
36:09that each of us
36:10brings a different aspect
36:11to the story.
36:12Uh-huh.
36:13And it's very complementary.
36:14It's very rare that you get
36:15a plant scientist
36:16and a mining engineer
36:17to sit at the same table
36:18and basically bridge
36:19both of the sectors.
36:20Fabio was telling you
36:21the whole story
36:22and now...
36:23The science.
36:24Now the science.
36:25Yes.
36:26So what kind of plant is this?
36:28This is a plant that is called
36:30Berchiaquidae
36:31and it's a plant
36:32that is endemic
36:33to South Africa
36:34and it's a hyper-retronilated plant.
36:36They are, like, very few
36:37in the world.
36:38Yeah?
36:39They have this awesome capacity
36:40of actually taking up the metal
36:41from the roots
36:42and into the roboblombinus.
36:45So basically,
36:46the first step for us
36:47was because this plant
36:48no one cared about.
36:49Wow.
36:50I mean...
36:51That's not true.
36:52I think...
36:53It's sad.
36:54But it's not a crop.
36:55It's a wild.
36:56Genetically, science did not really care about this plant.
36:58So when we started this project,
36:59we started from scratch.
37:00No one actually looked inside the plant
37:02to understand
37:03why genetically does it do that.
37:05It's a very special phenomenon.
37:06Oh.
37:07Now this plant
37:08we've genetically enhanced already.
37:09So what you're saying
37:10is an actual mutant.
37:11It's a mutant?
37:12Yeah.
37:13We isolated the genes
37:14that were responding
37:15when there is nickel in the soil.
37:17And then we started basically...
37:19This is where the genetic manipulation starts.
37:22So you did the genetic manipulation.
37:24Yes.
37:25You've now come to a point
37:26where you can...
37:27You've boosted it.
37:28Then you might be able
37:29to boost it even more.
37:30We're trying to make it
37:31more efficient and faster.
37:33So the function already is there.
37:35We're trying to enhance it.
37:36And is this something
37:37that will continue to enhance?
37:39You can...
37:40Or is there a natural limit?
37:42I'll tell you something
37:43that is very funny.
37:45We...
37:46For the past three years
37:47we have been trying
37:48to kill this plant
37:49with nickel concentration.
37:50We never managed.
37:51Oh, wow.
37:59We have already increased
38:01the plant's performance
38:02three to four folds
38:03from what it originally was doing.
38:07We actually look forward
38:08to further optimize our plants.
38:10So that's where the science
38:11keeps going.
38:12So here is the step
38:15where we are multiplying the plants.
38:18This is where you scale up
38:19the propagation
38:20to make more and more copies
38:21of those genetically enhanced plants.
38:23What's your name?
38:24Bonnie.
38:25Bonnie?
38:26Yeah.
38:27Nice to meet you.
38:28What are you working on?
38:29We take the stem cuttings
38:30of a plant
38:31which grows in our greenhouse.
38:33We grow them into making more plants
38:36out of each of these cuttles.
38:38Actually, if you want
38:39you can try...
38:40But this is...
38:41What can I try?
38:42Doing this?
38:43Yes, please.
38:44Okay.
38:45Should I wear a lab coat
38:47just to look a little more...
38:48Yeah.
38:49This is too small.
38:50It's too small.
38:51Try this one.
38:53Yep.
38:54Yeah.
38:55It works.
38:56This is perfect.
38:57Okay.
38:58All right.
38:59So what do I do?
39:00You hold the plant
39:01with one clump.
39:02Oh.
39:03Yes.
39:04Yeah.
39:05And you have to cut
39:06on the node.
39:07Okay.
39:08You hold it with one hand
39:09and you cut with the other.
39:10Well, this is...
39:11Yeah, you can put force.
39:12I don't want to kill this plant.
39:13That's fine.
39:14And then?
39:15Yeah, you can stick it
39:16a bit in the gel.
39:18What is this gel?
39:20This gel
39:21that we are putting the plant on
39:22it has different...
39:23It has different problems.
39:24It has different problems.
39:25Get in there.
39:28And that's it.
39:30When you look there,
39:31this combination in the gel
39:32is asking the plant to form a shoot.
39:34So we're capable of propagating it a lot.
39:37So we can go from one plant
39:39to a hundred million in a year.
39:40And we're gonna go put them somewhere
39:42where they can grow.
39:43We'll go plant?
39:44Uh, not yet.
39:45Oh, okay.
39:49I'm gonna give you another...
39:51Another lab coat?
39:52It kind of looks like
39:53we're going to a rave or something.
39:55So we have the sticky mat
39:58and this is just to remove anything
39:59from the bottom of our feet.
40:01Okay.
40:02But we don't bring anything inside.
40:04And then you'll have rooms
40:05that look like this
40:06which are growth chamber rooms.
40:10Basically, this is where we give them
40:12the right light signals
40:13to trigger the growth
40:14so they become green and strong
40:16and all of that.
40:17Just put them anywhere we want.
40:18Anywhere?
40:19Yeah.
40:22How much nickel can you produce now?
40:24We're capable of extracting
40:25up to 2.5 tons of nickel
40:27per hectare per year.
40:312.5 tons of nickel
40:33is enough to produce
40:3460 to 80 electric vehicle batteries
40:37with far less land disruption,
40:39waste and carbon emission
40:40than the traditional mines.
40:42Oh, wow.
40:43Yeah.
40:44The numbers are mind-boggling.
40:45Yeah, they're a lot.
40:46Are there any negative impacts
40:49on the fields
40:50where you're planting them?
40:51We plant also
40:52that are naturally polluted
40:53in nickel.
40:54They are too contaminated
40:55for agriculture.
40:56So basically,
40:57agriculture cannot work there.
40:58And they are too diluted
40:59for mining to work there.
41:01So basically,
41:02this is our sweet spot.
41:03And we're taking these sources
41:05that are polluted,
41:06that are causing an issue
41:07and turning them
41:08into something valuable.
41:12After sprouting in the lab,
41:14the plants are moved
41:15to Jenna Mine's greenhouse.
41:20Yes, your chariot awaits you, sir.
41:22Let's go.
41:34We need to produce this
41:36in a very cheap way.
41:37Yeah.
41:38Access to cheaper nickel
41:40would potentially impact
41:41the price of cars.
41:43It could be cheaper
41:44and much better
41:45for the environment.
41:46This is what we're trying
41:47to prove.
41:48in a very cheap way.
41:53So, we're here to the greenhouse.
41:55And we have Danish somewhere.
41:58Hey, Danish.
41:59How are you?
42:00I'm good.
42:01Ah.
42:02Hello.
42:03Hello.
42:04Hello.
42:05Hi.
42:06And this is...
42:07These are the plants.
42:08Yeah, these are the plants.
42:09Yeah, these are the plants.
42:10Exactly.
42:11Here we just executed
42:12a new experiment
42:13with some gamma rays bombardment.
42:15We increased the uptake
42:16of heavy metals.
42:18These look quite big.
42:19Yeah.
42:20Compared to the one I saw
42:21in the other.
42:22In nature, it's like below
42:24more than 12 feet, 16 feet,
42:25like so tall.
42:26Oh, wow.
42:27They go up to three meters.
42:28Yeah.
42:29It's very big.
42:30It's bigger than this greenhouse.
42:32Have you always liked plants?
42:34Yeah.
42:35Basically, like, I have a master's
42:36in plant breeding and horticulture.
42:38Where's that passion from?
42:39I belong from Pakistan.
42:41And in Pakistan,
42:42I was living in a countryside.
42:44We have a huge field.
42:45I was going to the fields
42:46with my grandfather.
42:48And after that,
42:49I joined this as a passion
42:51and a field
42:52and now I am here.
42:53Now you're a scientist
42:54in plant.
42:55Yeah.
42:56What is this?
42:57Basically, like,
42:58if I want to test
42:59the nickel concentration
43:00to know about, like,
43:01what are the uptake.
43:03So I use this one.
43:04You have a strip
43:05like pH paper.
43:06Yeah.
43:07You can see this one.
43:08You can just break this.
43:09Yeah.
43:10Leave.
43:11And then you have to put
43:12here like this.
43:13You can see.
43:14Yeah.
43:15Approximately like 200.
43:17So this is really good.
43:19That's what you're saying.
43:20You saw the plants with VIP.
43:22They have more than 1,000.
43:23Did you say VIP?
43:24Yeah.
43:25Very important plants.
43:26Yeah.
43:27Very important plants.
43:37So now we're going to call Celia,
43:39director of operation.
43:40She's based in Johannesburg.
43:41And there's all fields there.
43:43So she's going to show you
43:44where it is actual operations.
43:46Hello.
43:47Hi.
43:48My name is Nikolai.
43:49Nice to meet you.
43:50Nice to meet you, too.
43:51We're in a nursery.
43:52In a nursery.
43:53Yeah.
43:54Where we're growing our plants.
43:55Do you want to see?
43:56I would love to see.
43:57Yes, please.
43:58Okay.
43:59I'm going to turn the camera on.
44:00Okay.
44:01Okay.
44:02So.
44:03Here we've got our little babies growing.
44:07All the seedlings.
44:08To plant them all in the field after winter.
44:11So this year will start small and then we'll keep on ramping up every year.
44:16Opening up a mine takes enormous amount of time.
44:2412 to 15 years on average.
44:26When you operate with plants,
44:29you don't need to build a huge infrastructure that are very complex.
44:33Because of that, you can operationalize the field in one to two years.
44:36When it comes to places where we could do that,
44:39we estimate that there are 30 to 40 million hectares that are very high potential.
44:44We'd like to see the finished product.
44:47Oh my God.
44:48I was going to ask you about this.
44:53Is this nickel?
44:54Yes.
44:55It's nickel sulfate.
44:56Exactly.
44:57Nickel sulfate.
44:58So how do you get this out of the plants?
44:59You process the biomass.
45:00Like burning the biomass.
45:01Yeah.
45:02Okay.
45:03You have an ash.
45:04In this ash, you have a very high level of concentration of nickel,
45:08which is around 18 to 20%.
45:10Okay.
45:11And then after you sell these concentrates.
45:13Yes.
45:14To smelters.
45:15Basically the infrastructure that's already in place for mines.
45:18Exactly.
45:19Right?
45:20Yeah.
45:21So from there on, it's the same process.
45:22Yeah.
45:23And then this is what comes out of this after this melting.
45:26Yes, exactly.
45:27It's a crystal of nickel.
45:28Yes.
45:29That is used directly in batteries, in lithium-ion batteries.
45:32So this is nickel sulfate which we get from the market.
45:35So you can see they are almost same.
45:37So this is, if I wanted to buy this.
45:39Yeah.
45:40Yeah.
45:41It's the same.
45:42How exciting was it the first time you received this?
45:45So the moment that we managed to get this, we were all shouting etc.
45:49Yeah.
45:50So exciting.
45:51Because when you can do it once, it feels like it's possible.
45:53Yeah.
45:54It's all about the plants.
45:55Yeah.
45:56Exactly.
46:02By 2030, General Mines aims to produce 150,000 tons of nickel a year.
46:08Enough for two million electric vehicle batteries.
46:12We're trying to change the way people think about mining.
46:16So when they think about where is this nickel coming from, they have in their mind fields
46:22that are green and it's beautiful.
46:24And you say, okay, this is mining rather than a mountain being destroyed.
46:31You want to have these stories.
46:32You want to share this.
46:33You meet people that have a passion that do something that they believe in.
46:37And that is exciting.
46:38That inspires you.
46:40In a few years, there will be better technologies.
46:45There will be more young people doing different inventions to contribute to all the world.
46:53So trust these people.
46:55Have hope.
46:56Humans can do everything.
46:59We're trying to leave the world better than what we found it in.
47:03And I think this is our duty not only as scientists, but also as human beings.
47:10And that's a wrap.
47:12Oh.
47:13Goodbye.
47:40Hello.
47:41A raw
47:46God.
47:47I hope we have.
47:49Hallo.
47:52Hmm.
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