Can We Grow Oil From Algae? Ian Hu of Phycobloom

Algae already make oil. The hard part is getting them to share it.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.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.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.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.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?Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5 is about why climate tech is just good business.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.Learn more about Phycobloom: https://www.phycobloom.com/Support Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5: https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support