May 20, 2026 · 43m · green-blueprint
How Supercool Earth's microbes could ease the water crisis
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of The Green Blueprint, host Laura Pierpoint interviews Supercool Earth CEO Dacia Leone on how her startup uses biodegradable, fungal ice-nucleating proteins to revolutionize snowmaking and atmospheric cloud seeding. Leone explains their commercial strategy to alleviate global water scarcity by replacing toxic chemical seeding agents with safe, scalable biological solutions.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 3.8 Guest teaching 2.9 Guest disagreement 0.5 The hosts pushing back 1.0
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 35:57 Dismissing federal weather modification ban risk
Dacia pushes back on Laura's concern regarding federal regulatory vulnerability, arguing that a blanket federal ban is highly unlikely and that unaffected states are not their target market anyway.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 35:45 Pressing on federal policy and administration riskLaura directly challenges Dacia on policy vulnerability, asking whether the current political administration and shifting federal frameworks pose a threat to weather modification deployment.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 18:56 Distinguishing fungal ice nucleators from bacterial SnomaxDacia educates Laura on the technical difference between decades-old bacterial ice-nucleating formulations and modern fungal proteins that offer better cold-temperature synthesis.
The host holds their own ▶ 12:53 Contextualizing venture risks with Climate Tech 1.0 historyLaura demonstrates sharp sector expertise by analyzing why bio-based startups stumbled a decade ago during Climate Tech 1.0 algae biofuel hype and asking how Supercool avoids the same traps.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tackling Water Scarcity and Addressing Geoengineering Fears | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Laura frames the water scarcity crisis using specific California Sierra Nevada snowpack measurements and introduces public hesitation around geoengineering. Dacia explains Supercool's quick-acting biological approach to address public apprehension constructively. | |
| Evolution of Geoengineering from Academia to Startups | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Laura asks about the historical lack of private funding and real-world deployment in geoengineering. Dacia details the shift from academic research to venture-backed startups responding to climate urgency. | |
| Founder Backgrounds and Deep Biotech Expertise | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Laura asks whether ice-nucleating proteins are recent discoveries or uncommercialized established science. Dacia explains the history of bacterial proteins like Snomax versus recently discovered fungal proteins. | |
| Biotech Commercialization Lessons and Revenue Focus | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Laura brings deep context about the pitfalls of Climate Tech 1.0 bio-based ventures such as algae biofuels. Dacia confirms those historical failures shaped their focus on rapid commercialization and early revenues. | |
| Developing Snowmaking Additives for Ski Resorts | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Laura notes how beachhead products help startups establish early cash flow before commodity markets. Dacia describes their early Wisconsin field trial demonstrating snowmaking at higher ambient temperatures. | |
| Product Differentiators: Pure Protein vs. Snomax | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Laura inquires about specific performance improvements over incumbent products. Dacia explains why a cell-free pure protein formulation beats Snomax on odor, room-temperature storage, and price. | |
| Grassroots Snowmaker Collaboration and Backyard Testing | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Laura asks how Dacia connected with snowmaking practitioners. Dacia shares her grassroots outreach on Facebook and how backyard testing generates essential statistically significant field data. | |
| Expanding Field Testing to the Southern Hemisphere | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Laura asks about operational timelines and whether rapid global ski resort adoption is realistic. Dacia outlines upcoming Southern Hemisphere testing in New Zealand to prepare for winter sales. | |
| History and Limitations of Silver Iodide Cloud Seeding | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Laura prompts an overview of historical cloud seeding methods. Dacia details the 80-year legacy of silver iodide and highlights how modern biological nucleators function across warmer cloud temperatures. | |
| Environmental Fate: Biodegradable Proteins vs. Toxic Metals | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Laura asks how biological formulations behave in the environment and regulatory implications. Dacia explains why non-GMO natural proteins rapidly biodegrade unlike persistent heavy metals, smoothing EPA reviews. | |
| Field Operations Realities and Policy Resilience | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Laura probes regulatory and political risks under changing federal policy. Dacia explains why state-level adoption in nine existing weather-mod states and global demand insulate them from potential federal bans. | |
| Lab Breakthrough: Real-Time Ice Nucleation Assays | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Laura summarizes the macro tension in deep tech between investor timelines and hard science. Dacia recounts the breakthrough moment watching real-time ice nucleation in their lab assays. | |
| Hypothetical $100 Million Scale-Up Vision | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Laura poses a hypothetical $100M capital injection question. Dacia outlines scaling operations globally across high-demand regions like Latin America and Idaho immediately. |
Statements from this episode (28)
California Sierra Nevada recorded second-lowest snowpack in 2026
“April first, you know, here in California is the official measurement of the snowpack that occurs, and we just found out that we have the second lowest snowpack on record in the California Sierra Nevada”
Supercool Earth induces precipitation within 30 minutes of delivery
“It's an in and out technology that we're developing where we have the effect, we induce precipitation within zero to 30 minutes of delivery, and then that precipitation goes away.”
Multiple VC-backed startups are scaling geoengineering technologies
“There is a lot, there are many up-and-coming companies within the startup space that are VC-backed, that are exploring these technologies and wanting to bring them to scale.”
Bacterial ice-nucleating proteins have been commercialized since the 1980s
“They, there are bacterial versions of these proteins that are used in a product called Stomax, and those have been very well studied since the eighties.”
Investors now refuse to fund biotech without early commercial traction
“So investors now are unwilling to give gobs and gobs of money when you don't have commercial traction or a plan for revenue and what you're going to get that revenue. And they're not necessarily willing to wait years and years for that to happen.”
Biology cannot solve everything and chemistry often wins
“As much as I love biology, we can't deploy it for every single solution. Chemistry wins a lot.”
Supercool Earth demonstrates snowmaking additive in Wisconsin field trial
“We just did a field trial, our very first field trial up in Wisconsin with a snowmaking expert there, and he was able to demonstrate that when you add our product, you get some fluffy snow, whereas if you don't add the product, you get rain, and that was the f…”
Supercool Earth projects early commercial revenue by next U.S. winter
“We're well on track to be able to make some early revenue. Either in this off season or the next U.S. Winter season.”
Supercool Earth can sell its snowmaking product 20% cheaper than Snomax
“Because of our application rate, we can sell it for 20% cheaper than
Snowmax to drive adoption.”
Supercool Earth snowmaking protein decomposes within minutes to days
“It's just this protein that when it gets sprayed onto the snow, it freezes and makes ice, and then it gets decomposed. It goes away very quickly within minutes or days in the environment.”
Supercool Earth snowmaking protein is room-temperature stable across seasons
“Whereas our protein, it's a dried protein formulation, and it can, it's stable at room temperature, and it can last season to season.”
Supercool Earth sets up New Zealand ski resort field trials
“We're looking into the southern hemisphere, and specifically at New Zealand, and so we've been Again, I've been calling people, ski resorts operators there in New Zealand, and setting up some trials for us to be able to do some testing there.”
Supercool Earth targets North American and European ski resorts next season
“No, that's our plan. That's our plan. Nothing would make me happier. Yes, yes, that's I believe that we're positioning ourselves well in order to be able to do that and de-risking the things that we need to de-risk ahead of that.”
Supercool Earth targets water districts and hydropower before agricultural expansion
“We're also targeting water districts and hydropower, because that makes a lot of sense. That's where a lot of cloud seeding is done in, in the U.S. Today, that is silver iodide based. So we would, there's already existing customers in that space. And then our …”
Supercool Earth's biological seeding targets warmer clouds than silver iodide
“So our biological can target warmer clouds, which are where the ag fields are, so that we can access ag versus any silver iodide-based cloud seeding.”
Cloud seeding industry is shifting to drone delivery systems
“So today, cloud heating is done with generators on the ground and generally with aircraft, but there is a big movement right now to switch up that hardware and use drones instead.”
Supercool Earth extracts more water from clouds than silver iodide
“And what we bring, as opposed to silver iodide, is that we can target more clouds and essentially bring, get more rain than silver iodide can currently today. So we can target more geographies, more warmer clouds, more seasonalities, and then at that same temp…”
Around 60 countries conduct cloud seeding, led by China
“Internationally, there's around 60 countries that do some form of cloud seeding. China is the leader, and they've been doing cloud seeding for a very, very long time, but generally speaking, it's not done very much today.”
Cloud seeding cannot scale to daily use with silver iodide
“We want to scale it like irrigation is used today in agriculture, at least in the U.S., and in order to do that, we want to have an agent that, that degrades in the environment, that goes away in the environment, and cloud seeding can't scale with silver iodid…”
Supercool Earth's formulation contains only protein and no living cells
“One distinction, too, is that our formulation is protein only. It doesn't contain any bacteria or anything or fungal cells in it, and so proteins are made by microbes, and they, in order to persist in the environment, the proteins need the microbes around to b…”
Silver iodide does not degrade and harms humans, microbes, and fish
“Whereas silver iodide is a metal, and it does not degrade in the environment. So it, ah, it sticks around, and it's bad for humans, for microbes, and for fish. And it's not something that will go away once you release it down into the environment.”
Non-engineered proteins allow EPA TSCA approval in several months
“Because our proteins are not engineered, we can go through EPA, TSCA regulation, and that is relatively quick over several months. Approval process.”
Nine US states have weather modification infrastructure
“There are nine states in the US that already have weather modification infrastructure, and so we are able to essentially plug in, plug it, plug into that”
Supercool Earth will use drones for cloud seeding
“We will be using drones for our cloud seeding, and there are some waivers that we will need through the FAA, but those we can get”
US federal ban on cloud seeding is highly unlikely
“I think that a blanket federal mandate to ban cloud seeding or weather mod is highly unlikely.”
Supercool Earth engineers microbes to express active ice-nucleating proteins
“What we're doing with our technology is we're taking natural proteins and encoding them into microbes that we engineered to make the proteins at high levels and maintain their activity”