In Conversation with Eric Herrera, CEO - Maverick Biometals | Interviews with Biofounders: From a Baltimore Bench to a 10,000 sq. ft. biotech lab - Maverick BioMetals is Pioneering BioMining Solutions
By Anthony Ao, Marketing and Comms Executive
Traditional mining methods, such as acid roasting, are inefficient, energy-intensive, and environmentally hazardous. They release harmful gases, generate toxic byproducts, and contribute to pollution, posing significant risks to both the environment and human health. But what if mining products could be produced through a biological process?
This is where Maverick Biometals comes in. Meet Eric Herrera, the co-founder and CEO of Maverick Biometals, a finalist in the 2022 iGEM Startup Showcase in 2022 and Y Combinator S22 Cohort. Eric shared his remarkable entrepreneurship journey, starting with a single bench in a Baltimore basement to a 10,000 sq. ft. biotechnology laboratory. With a team of scientists from over 10 countries, Maverick Biometals is pioneering the production of lithium batteries and silicon semiconductors entirely through biological methods
In this interview, Eric discusses his bioentrepreneurship journey alongside his co-founder, Jesse Evans and how their story of unlocking BioMining began.
How did the co-founders meet?
Jesse and Eric met at Washington and Lee University during their first year. Eric was the scientist and Jesse was the businessman, which made for a perfect partnership— one to make and one to sell. After college, Jesse left his job at a tech startup in New York and Eric turned down medical school scholarship with the US Navy to risk it and move to Silicon Valley.
What was the inspiration behind Maverick Biometals?
I believe biology has the capacity to revolutionize industrial applications. When people think biotech they think pharma or food, but I wanted to show that bio can make a change faster and more efficiently in industrial applications. Mining and mineral processing provided the best test case as it has some history with biology but with unsatisfactory results. Growing up in a small mining town in Mexico, I understood the need for this type of technology, the market potential, and the synthetic biology needed to make it happen. It was a risk, but one that worked out.
How has your iGEM experience influenced the making of your startup?
It inspired me to make connections and leverage all aspects of synthetic biology. Our enzyme was first isolated from pharmaceutical studies, scaled with agricultural tech, and tested with AI for antibody development. We are now looking to deploy with the same tech used for food processing. The synthetic biology community is stronger as a group with the free flow of information, and iGEM facilitates and encourages that, like no other organization.
What are the proudest or memorable milestones your startup has achieved since its founding?
Growing up I always wanted a laboratory. One day I looked at the lab we have now and it hit me that my dream was a reality. We had gone from a single bench in a Baltimore basement with $214 in funding into 10,000 sq. ft. Bio, Chem, and Engineering lab with brilliant scientists from over 10 countries creating the first battery lithium and silicon semiconductor produced entirely with biological methods. About a week later we came to the conclusion we needed to expand even further. That moment was when it first hit me.
How has the startup journey been so far?
In a single word, amazing. There’s been ups and downs and sleepless nights in the lab and over financial spreadsheets but seeing the first results makes up for it. I’ve been lucky enough to get the lab to the place where we can be as creative as possible to test wild theories and hypotheses. I wouldn't change that for the world.
The humble beginning of Maverick BioMetals represents the common traits of a biotech startup - it often originates from a scientific question. In retrospect, with the passion that Jesse and Eric have, bringing this mission to reality is just a matter of time.
Shining among the startups at Y Combinators and iGEM Startups, Maverick BioMetals continues to bring its impact on mineral processing at an industrial scale. At the center of this endeavor lies the LithX technology. Maverick BioMetals pioneers biotechnology-infused mineral processing and metal extraction. Their focus is on developing advanced whole-cell and cell-free processes powered by their proprietary synthetic extraction enzyme, "LithX." No more sulfuric acid or high temperatures bringing down the cost and environmental impact of producing the metals to power the green revolution.
