Copper is critical to the energy transition away from fossil fuels. The metal is an excellent conductor of electricity, used in everything from electric vehicles to wind turbines. But by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency expects copper supplies to fall 20% short of demand. One stealthily operating startup thinks it can […]
Who cut the plant-based cheese? Plonts did with microbes, and it’s stinky
Among plant-based alternative proteins, plant-based cheese continues to have a function and taste problem. That’s where Plonts comes in. Company founders Nathaniel Chu and Josh Moser say microbes are the key to what will fix the taste, smell, flavor, stretch and melt of plant-based cheese. In fact, it’s the microbes that give cheese its distinctive […]
Wase zaps microbes to squeeze more biogas from wastewater sludge
Few people get as excited about wastewater as Thomas Fudge. He has good reason: he and his colleagues believe they have figured out how to turn sludge into gold. Wastewater from places like breweries and food processing plants can’t be dumped down the drain; it has to be specially treated, a costly endeavor that often […]