The microbial solution to our massive copper shortfall

To build the physical infrastructure of the clean energy transition — from wind turbines and grid stabilization to massive new AI data centers — the world needs more copper between now and 2050 than humanity has produced in its entire history. But new copper mines take anywhere from 10 to 16 years to permit and build, meaning we’re not on track to meet our rapidly growing demand.

Liz Dennett, CEO and founder of Endolith, thinks the solution lies in material that has already been pulled from the earth. Endolith uses naturally occurring microbial communities, paired with real-time data, to extract more copper from low-grade ore at existing heap leaches. By bringing a mobile bio-rig directly to mine sites, Endolith continuously adds optimized microbes into existing sulfuric acid irrigation lines, essentially turning decades-old, multi-billion-dollar assets into precision engineering tools without disrupting downstream operations.

In this episode, host Lara Pierpoint talks with Liz about why the climate tech bias against biological approaches needs updating, how to navigate the notoriously risk-averse nature of the mining industry, and why she deliberately kept corporate venture capital (CVC) off her cap table to preserve the company's optionality.

Credits: Hosted by Lara Pierpoint. Produced and edited by Ross Kenyon, Anne Bailey, and Stephen Lacey. Sean Marquand is our technical director. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

The Green Blueprint is a co-production of Latitude Media and Trellis Climate. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this show, subscribe to Latitude Media’s newsletter.