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Future of Biotech Super-Powered Nature
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00:00All right, it's going to be lunchtime in about 15 minutes for us, but don't go away.
00:05We have one last segment, which is on biotech and plants.
00:10And so we have two startups here for you to present to you their solutions.
00:16Pierre, okay.
00:18From Notpla?
00:20All right then, so we have Pierre, who is going to talk to us about his biotech solution from Notpla.
00:29Welcome.
00:32Hi everyone, I'm Pierre, co-founder of Notpla.
00:37We are looking at the problem of plastic pollution.
00:40We are consuming a lot of plastic, and we all know that it's quite problematic at end of life because
00:46it's indestructible as a material.
00:48It basically has been created only 50 years ago, and as a result, nature doesn't know what to do with
00:54it.
00:54This is just looking at like how much ends up in our environment, in our oceans, every year.
01:01And one big contributor to this type of lost plastic is packaging.
01:09So at Notpla, we are looking at how we can create packaging in a different way, not using plastic, but
01:16using seaweed.
01:16So if we look at the video, we are introducing, if we can see the video on the next slide,
01:25like we are basically creating a range of different packaging solutions using seaweed.
01:31Seaweed is quite an incredible material.
01:33It grows very fast.
01:35Some of the seaweed that we use grow up to one meter per day, and we can create all sorts
01:39of packaging that can even be edible.
01:42So we're looking at marathons, festivals, where you have quick consumption of like cups and bottles.
01:48We can make packaging for food delivery, where there's a lot of like thin layers of plastic that are used
01:54for all sorts of different types of food service applications.
01:58Little sachets that are very convenient, but are leaving quite a lot of kind of like plastic behind.
02:03We can even make it soluble so that you create something that is quite different.
02:08This is an application for olive oil, where you can like drizzle the olive oil directly onto your plates.
02:15And we're even looking at things like paper that could be made not from trees and from kind of like
02:20land biomass, but from seaweed.
02:24So as I mentioned, one of the exciting things about seaweed is that it's been around the environment for hundreds
02:32of millions of years.
02:33So nature really knows how to deal with that.
02:37It means that we can use this packaging in a way that is very different from plastic.
02:41So for example, this is a little bubble.
02:44This is actually a ginger shot encapsulated in a thin piece of seaweed.
02:49And the idea with this is that we can actually make this a packaging that you can eat just like
02:55a fruit.
02:56So cheers.
02:59That's it. No waste. It's quite spicy because it's ginger.
03:05So we create a range of different packaging solutions.
03:08For example, I showed the takeaway food boxes.
03:13Typically those boxes have a thin layer of plastic inside.
03:16Even if we think that it's cardboard, cardboard doesn't hold any kind of like moisture or grease.
03:24So you need to combine this cardboard with plastic.
03:28So we found a way to use the same kind of like seaweed technology to make a packaging that is
03:34completely natural, naturally biodegradable and even recyclable.
03:39So if we look at the next video, we can have a look of how it gets made.
03:43How do we turn seaweed into some of our...
03:47So this is actually showing what happens at end of life if you actually have this material ending up in
03:54the environment.
03:55So this is a box with a few worms and you can see that without any special conditions of temperature
04:02that are required for certain bioplastics to break down,
04:05you can have this box that completely break down without any human intervention.
04:11What's amazing about this is that we're not introducing a new material in nature.
04:17We're just introducing more seaweed and more kind of like cellulose from cardboard.
04:21So we can rely on nature for dealing with what is inevitably going to be lost because as humans we
04:27can't control everything we do.
04:28And this is looking at how it gets made.
04:31So we extract the gelatinous part of the seaweed.
04:33We're now doing this at scale so you can see like the big factory that is producing this coating that
04:38we apply onto cardboard.
04:39And this cardboard is basically kind of like then turned into boxes just the regular way like plastic coated cardboard
04:47is being used.
04:49And so what you can see is that we can form a range of different boxes.
04:53Actually this was like the final of the UEFA like Euro in Wembley.
04:59But just on Saturday, the final of the Champions League in Istanbul, the whole stadium was just using our packaging
05:05so no plastic was used.
05:07And at the end of the day as you've seen it kind of like naturally break down.
05:11So this is quite an exciting future for like packaging because we can find substitutes to this plastic.
05:18We can find natural solutions.
05:20We don't have to introduce more synthetic materials.
05:23The regulation is changing so there's a lot more kind of like pressure to find better solutions.
05:28And we think that seaweed is ideally placed to play a big role.
05:33Seaweed, as I mentioned, grows very fast.
05:36But also what's quite amazing is that as it grows, it sequesters carbon.
05:40It doesn't require fresh water.
05:42It doesn't require fertilizers compared to any kind of like land use system.
05:46And it's regenerative for the ocean.
05:48It's actually kind of like helping the fisheries to grow.
05:52So we should really use a lot more seaweed and a lot less plastic.
05:57And maybe to give you a kind of like an insight into where we are as a company.
06:01We are now 75 people.
06:03I'm French but we are based in London.
06:05And we are developing this range of packaging solutions for brands who are kind of like switching from plastic to
06:12seaweed.
06:13And we are quite excited to see that like there's a whole other range of solutions that are coming up.
06:19We're looking at rigid materials.
06:20We're looking at paper.
06:22So it's only the beginning of what's possible to do with seaweed.
06:25And I think that it's definitely showing that it's possible to go out of the lab and scale up completely
06:32those solutions.
06:33Retrofitting them into the like real industrial kind of like factories that today make this plastic.
06:38So that we don't have to build brand new factories from scratch.
06:42We can just retrofit the material and have a solution that works without the plastic.
06:47So I think I'll leave it here.
06:49Thank you very much.
06:50And happy to take any questions.
06:54Okay, thank you, Pierre.
06:57All right, just a quick question from my side.
06:59So because this is not new, I mean biodegradable plastics is not new, but this is stuff that basically there's
07:06really zero impact to the environment.
07:08Yeah, correct.
07:10So unfortunately, the first generation of bioplastics that has been talking a lot about compostables, biodegradables, they are actually still
07:19plastic.
07:20They are materials that are not widely found in nature.
07:23It's materials that were created by humans.
07:26And so as a result, they require some sort of special conditions to biodegrade.
07:30So for example, PLA, the main bioplastic, it requires industrial composting.
07:34Here, what we're talking about is really just doing it the way nature does, using the normal kind of like
07:40way that those peels of fruits or the seaweed on the beach is decomposing.
07:46Okay, that's all the time we have for Pierre from not PLA, ladies and gentlemen.
07:50All right, thank you very much.
07:52Okay, last one up before we break for lunch.
07:55These guys are called Neoplants.
07:57And basically, it is a plant that has been engineered to clean the air.
08:04And it's actually more effective at doing it than a standard plant, nearly as much as 30 times.
08:10So here to tell you more is Lionel from Neoplants.
08:22Hi, everyone. Can you hear me fine?
08:24Great. It's a good start.
08:26So I'm Leo. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Neoplants.
08:29And I hate to kill the vibe, but I have to start with some bad news.
08:34The air you're breathing right now is two to five times more polluted than what you can find outdoors, which
08:41is already quite bad.
08:42On average, we spend about 90% of our time indoors, which makes indoor air pollution a serious issue, leading
08:49to asthma, allergies, cancers, and millions of premature deaths every year.
08:56Now, indoor air pollution is due to a specific type of pollutants called VOCs or volatile organic compounds, which are
09:03constantly emitted from a lot of things we all have indoors.
09:06Paints on the walls, pieces of furniture, these carpets, and household products.
09:11They constantly emit these pollutants, and there is no good solution for that today.
09:16On the one hand, we have air purifiers, which are gorgeous machines that make a lot of noise, consume a
09:24lot of electricity, and for most of them, pollute more than they purify the air.
09:30On the other side, we have regular houseplants, and I'm sorry to break the myth, but existing houseplants, you would
09:38need a lot of them to have any impact in a bedroom.
09:40But, at Neoplants, we like plants. So, we thought, what if we could use synthetic biology to supercharge what a
09:52houseplant can do?
09:53What if we could empower nature and enable it to do so much more?
09:58So, over the past four years and a half, we have built the first and only plant that is bioengineered
10:07to purify the air in your home.
10:10One of our products, Neop1, is equivalent to up to 30 regular houseplants in terms of air purification.
10:18What you see behind me is a graph showing its performance against some of the best, quote-unquote, air purifying
10:26plants available out there in the world.
10:29So, we're pretty proud of this kind of performance.
10:34Now, how does it work?
10:36So, the first feature is the metabolism engineering of the plant.
10:40So, we're going to insert synthetic metabolic pathways inside the DNA of the plant to enable it not only to
10:48capture more efficiently these pollutants, but to recycle them and use them as a carbon source.
10:54So, there is no storage of the pollutants.
10:57Second is the microbiome of the plant.
11:00So, the microorganisms that live outside and inside the plant that we select and optimize to supercharge its air purification
11:09capacity.
11:09And feature number three is the shell.
11:13We built a beautiful shell and stand to not only maximize the air exchange between the substrate and the room,
11:20but also to facilitate the plant maintenance.
11:25We started Neoplants with the deep belief that nature is the most powerful piece of technology out there.
11:32And we are just starting to get the tools to start working with it instead of fighting against it.
11:39And we really strongly believe that partnering with nature is the way forward.
11:44I know it sounds weird in a place where 90% of the stuff you see is machines, but we
11:48truly believe this is the way to go.
11:52The technologies we have unlocked over the past four years and a half are showing incredible potential to move from
11:59indoors to outdoors, but also to move from indoor air quality issues to climate change applications.
12:06And I'm very excited by this and what's coming in the next couple of years.
12:13None of this would be possible without the incredible team that we have.
12:17We have a bit more than 30 scientists and engineers and plant lovers coming from all over the world to
12:23build this incredible product.
12:24We're also very fortunate to be backed by world class investors from Silicon Valley, Europe and Asia.
12:31We also have a great scientific advisory board and none of this would be here without them.
12:40Now, let me ask you something.
12:42How many brands of plants do you know?
12:45Zero.
12:46It's a very old industry that hasn't seen radical innovation for the past century.
12:53We have the know-how, the tech and the product to build the first legitimate brand of plants people have
13:01ever seen.
13:02And it will be a brand that stands for a greener future and that brings product to the market that
13:07are sustainable by design.
13:09A few months ago, we announced our first product, Neop1, and we opened a waitlist.
13:15I'm very humbled and excited to share that the reaction so far has been far beyond our wildest expectations.
13:22But you can join the waitlist today on neoplants.com and you can also come and see us at our
13:28stand right over there.
13:30Thank you all very much and have a nice day.
13:34Thank you very much.
13:35We're out of time.
13:37So, perfect.
13:38Ah, don't forget.
13:40Thank you.
13:41It's already cleaned the air of this stage.
13:46All right then.
13:47Hungry?
13:50Now it's time for lunch.
13:51We're going to take an hour's break and we deserve it.
13:56So, just to let you know, the food courts are outside.
14:00Download the Sunday app and flash the QR code and that way you get to skip the queue.
14:05See you back bright and fresh or half asleep, however you like at 2 o'clock.
14:12See you then.
14:13We'll do this next time.
14:13We'll do this.
14:13Let's go.
14:13– Sous-titrage FR 2021
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