The Switch to Sustainable Fertilizer: An Agricultural Revolution Artwork

Leaders on a Mission

Discussions with leaders with a clear mission of creating a healthier world in today’s most innovative startups across FoodTech, AgTech (Agritech), Synbio, Sustainability, Climate Tech, and Clean Tech. Learn more about precision fermentation, cellular agriculture, alternative proteins, crop protection, biologicals, protein expression systems, carbon capture, plant health, precision agriculture, bioinformatics, human nutrition and what it takes to successfully scale your business in this budding sector.

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Leaders on a Mission

The Switch to Sustainable Fertilizer: An Agricultural Revolution

February 25, 2025 • Simon Leich

What if we could revolutionize agriculture with biology instead of chemicals?

Join Tim Schnabel, CEO of Switch Bioworks, as he delves into the company’s mission to replace 50% of traditional nitrogen fertilizers with engineered microbes.

Tim shares the scientific breakthroughs powering this shift, including microbial symbiosis, ammonia production, and precision field testing.

From raising $28M in funding to building a mission-driven team, Tim unpacks the challenges, cultural values, and vision driving this movement toward a sustainable food future.

Delve into the world of sustainable agriculture and fertilizer and find out “what is sustainable fertilizer?” and how Switch Bioworks are feeding the future.

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Get an exclusive insight into how these leaders started up their journey, and how their cutting edge products will make a real impact.

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…to listen to the latest episodes!

1:04 - From PhD project to company

4:35 - The hidden cost of nitrogen fertilizer

6:20 - Engineering microbes to fix nitrogen

8:45 - Progress milestones and field testing

11:30 - Challenges: scaling sustainable agriculture