The Role of Methane-Eating Microbes in Soil

Josh Silverman is the CEO and founder of Windfall Bio, which transforms methane into nitrogen-rich organic soil nutrients using naturally occurring methane-eating microbes. With a strong background in biotechnology, Josh has founded multiple successful ventures in the field, raising over $300 million in equity financing and generating a cumulative exit value exceeding $1.7 billion.

After co-founding Calysta, a cellular agriculture company that converts methane into sources of protein for livestock and other food ingredients, Josh turned his attention to other ways to tackle the problem of atmospheric methane, which led him to start Windfall. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) gets the bulk of attention in the greenhouse gas removal space, but methane is responsible for a significant portion of the planetary warming that we are experiencing. Methane is up to 80 times more potent than CO2 from a heat-trapping perspective and is significantly more diffuse than CO2 in the atmosphere, making it challenging to capture or remove it once released. 

While there are growing sources of anthropogenic methane released via natural gas infrastructure, livestock, rice cultivation, as well as landfills and waste processing, there are also significant naturally occurring pockets of methane released in the oceans and arctic tundra, which are likely to only increase on a warming planet, a case study in feedback loops leading to climate change tipping points.

Josh and Cody dive into the problem of methane, as well as Windfall's solution and how Josh has grown the business. They also cover Josh’s background and experience in the space. The MCJ Collective Venture Fund is a proud investor in Windfall, and we’re grateful to Liron Gitig at EDF for introducing us to Josh as part of EDF's Climate Tech Convening event in the fall of 2022.  

In this episode, we cover: 

• [03:41]: CO2 vs. methane attention and short-term impact
• [06:03]: Methane breakdown into CO2 over time
• [07:18]: Sources of methane: natural and human-created
• [09:16]: Challenges with methane release and feedback loops
• [11:49]: Diffuse methane release sources like rice farming
• [12:58]: Connections to biological CDR solutions
• [14:46]: Windfall's work with methane-eating microbes (MEMS)
• [18:24]: Energy value and economics of methane capture
• [20:36]: Windfall's digester use on farms for methane reduction and fertilizer production
• [25:18]: Potential for branding "Low Greenhouse Gas" ag products
• [26:37]: Market for methane removal
• [28:05]: Decrease in natural MEMS despite methane increase
• [30:53]: Josh's biotech background and methane work
• [34:20]: Windfall's branding and company status
• [35:27]: Where the company stands today, scaling, and low technology risk
• [37:01]: Windfall's patented natural MEMS
• [38:58]: Scaling MEMS for diffuse methane sources
• [41:27]: Following and connecting with Windfall

Get connected:
Josh Silverman LinkedIn
Cody Simms Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

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Episode recorded on Aug 8, 2023 (Published on Aug 17, 2023)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant