GARDEN EDEN
INVENTED BY MODERN ADAM
In the center of the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, a park ringed by forests and mountains is an oasis of natural diversity, where 30,000 different plants reside, some recovered from presumed extinction. The public is welcomed to Botánico Biotecnológico – “Bibo Park” - to marvel in the symbiosis of nature and humans that is at the heart of the biotechnology that Bioo does. A favorite is the “piano,” played by touching rows of succulents.
A 30-minute plane ride west, Barcelona is home to Bioo’s headquarters, where Pablo Vidarte Gordillo spins an ever-widening web of innovation that promises to be game-changing for not just climate impact solutions, but a better quality of life.
Biotech is the next revolution, he says. It will feel as magical as when humankind discovered fire, and be just as lifechanging as it scales. Panel, their biological battery, Switch, where humans and plants connect to create electricity, and Sensor, poised to transform agriculture, are on that edge. A basis in solid science, and a firm nod to ease and cost of use, promise that they are just the beginning.
Electricity from nature. Bioo calls it “a new point of view.” Its solution to climate change and the need for clean energy comes from transforming the spaces that are already green; lawns, gardens, farms, planted roofs and forests. Energy doesn’t get any cleaner than that.
Spiritual Quotient
Vidarte is a rarity and a paradox, having maintained momentum from the start. He is a scientist who has not lost his childlike wonder at what is possible and is enthusiastic about sharing what he’s learned.
At 27, he is not far beyond his childhood vision of being on the frontier, maybe working at NASA. At 16, he started software and hardware companies. By the time he finished studying technology and multimedia engineering at university, he had started several more companies, testing the waters until he found his passion. At 20, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Europe.
As cliché as it sounds, his path was revealed when he woke up from a dream at 3:00 a.m., in shock. He was in a “very cool” village, surrounded by mountains. The sky, the architecture and the clothing were not of Earth. He watched a man lift a piece of farm field to reveal wires below. “I understood they were actually generating energy out of nature itself.”
Bioo, launched in 2015 as part of his overarching company, Arkyne Technologies, began as he always does, by assembling a crack team of scientists. Panel and Switch are now full-blown products. Sensor is planned for a 2024 launch.
How will it make an impact?
Laying a smooth surface over the slow and bumpy road to sustainability doesn’t have to mean reinventing the wheel. Right now, Bioo’s starting point of known science combined with low profile tech seems to be exactly what’s needed. Summoning energy from …
