The Big Experiment
Ever wondered how technology start-ups, well, start-up? For most founder entrepreneurs, it is the biggest experiment they'll ever run. Like most experiments, the result isn't known beforehand and it often doesn't work first time. On a bigger scale, how do big tech companies turn innovative science into profit?
Mark Davison interviews founder scientists, executives, investors, communicators, and others in the technology start-up and corporate science ecosystems.
Learn how great ideas turned into thriving businesses (or not) from those who made it happen (or didn't). Get business tips, lessons learned, and life lessons straight from the people who know.
Inspiring, disastrous, funny: hear what life in a science-driven company is really like.
Straight-talking, no nonsense, but conversational style. All technical content is explained for the non-specialist - you don't need a PhD or fluency in jargon and technobabble.
The Big Experiment
Tim Corcoran: Cosmetics from Cyanobacteria
Is the answer to sustainable chemical manufacturing floating in our oceans?
Ocean cyanobacteria, like plants, use sunlight as power to help them make complex chemicals. Traditional industrial chemistry requires a lot of power and can be quite polluting. Cyanobacteria are actually more efficient at producing high-value chemicals, while capturing carbon dioxide rather than releasing it.
In this episode I am joined by Tim Corcoran, Founder and CEO at Deep Blue Biotech, who's proving this remarkable claim with a novel approach. His company produces hyaluronic acid, a premium skincare ingredient, using nothing but CO2, sunlight, and seawater-based nutrients. For every tonne produced, approximately 7 tonnes of CO2 are captured. Ingredient costs drop by 50%, and it creates the world's first "ocean-derived" hyaluronic acid, which personal care companies are eager to market.
Beyond the compelling science, Tim reveals the strategic thinking that sets Deep Blue apart from failed synthetic biology startups. Rather than chasing commodity markets and competing on price and sustainability, they targeted expensive products first to prove their technology works and generate revenue quickly. We explore the practical realities of photobioreactor design, genetic engineering challenges, and scaling from 5-litre lab batches to 100,000-litre industrial facilities.
This venture extends beyond skincare. By starting with high-value products, Deep Blue is building toward their ultimate goal: producing butanol biofuels that could transform Europe's automotive industry while avoiding the land-use competition that plagues ethanol production.
" Start with something expensive, be competitive quickly, then explore higher-impact molecules.." – Tim Corcoran
You'll Hear About
- Fast-growing ocean cyanobacteria discovered near Singapore
- Why expensive hyaluronic acid beat commodity biofuels
- Photobioreactors: growing bacteria with light and CO2
- Genetic engineering to optimize microbial metabolism
- 50% cost reduction plus 7 tonnes CO2 captured
- Scaling from lab to 1,000 litres in Portugal
- Technology licensing instead of manufacturing company
- Personal care's lower regulatory barriers versus pharma
- Managing runway while raising £3-4 million seed round
- £25 million Series A for commercial-scale production
- Future applications: butanol biofuels for European cars
- Portugal versus Iceland for photobioreactor facilities
Connect with Tim Corcoran
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-corcoran-5b10121/
Website - https://deepbluebiotech.com/
Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdavison100/
If you need any lab equipment:
Grant Instruments: https://www.grantinstruments.com/
Grant Instruments on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grant-instruments-cambridge-ltd/
Produced by Between Tracks - https://www.betweentracks.com/
