Can We Grow Oil From Algae? Ian Hu of Phycobloom

<p>Algae already make oil. The hard part is getting them to share it.</p><p>In this episode of Bite-Size Climate Tech, Lydia speaks with Ian Hu, CTO and co-founder of Phycobloom, a synthetic biology company engineering microalgae to release oil while staying alive.</p><p>Ian explains why crude oil originally came from ancient photosynthetic life, why traditional algae oil production was so energy-intensive, and how Phycobloom is exploring a different approach: teaching algae to release oil into their surroundings without destroying the cell.</p><p>The conversation covers algae 1.0, DNA as an instruction manual, synthetic biology, the “Monsters, Inc. 2.0” analogy, sustainable aviation fuel, energy security, techno-economics, and why climate startups need to think beyond the science from day one.</p><p>We also discuss Phycobloom’s internal techno-economic analysis, which suggests their approach could reduce production cost compared with conventional algae oil production by around 70 percent.</p><p>This is early-stage science, but it points to a big question: could living systems become a better way to make the carbon-based fuels and materials that electrification cannot easily replace?</p><p>Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5 is about why climate tech is just good business.</p><p>Note for video viewers: selected B-roll and animations in the video version are AI-assisted and used as educational explainers. The interview and company context are real.</p><p>Learn more about Phycobloom: <a href="https://www.phycobloom.com/">https://www.phycobloom.com/</a><br>Support Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5: <a href="https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support">https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support</a></p>