Thomas Rogg

How much of our story is already written?

Chances are you are an adult over twenty. If so, a solid quarter of your expected lifetime is already behind you. Even worse: thirty-nine doesn’t sound that old, yet for the average man in Germany it marks the halfway point. The glass is no longer half full - it is half empty, and that realization can feel heavy.

I’d like to push my healthy lifespan to at least 120 years and, if future science allows, perhaps beyond that. I know this is a long shot. Still, I understand biochemistry, I can code, and I know how to build teams, so I'm giving it a go.

I'd like to understand how my body changes. Just two examples: I’m arranging full-body MRI scans and other deep tests, and I'm planning on assembling a small software group to analyse the data and understand how organs and other tissue compare to those of a 20-year old. Misfolded proteins that foreshadow several forms of dementia, for example, can be found in cerebrospinal fluid years decades in advance. Catching signals like that early buys options.

I want to actively work on medication. For the past two years I've also been developing a protein/RNA-based therapy aimed at multiple cancers. It takes time, with many cycles of design - the hard work -, assembling plasmids - the long work -, and testing in-vitro in my lab, but it is on-going. I hope to be able to move to trials at some point.

I try to live healthy, keep the engine running with sports, e.g. couple of half-marathons each year. I’m not chasing exotic diets or supplements; standard good nutrition seems enough.

I’m sharing this because none of it will succeed in isolation. If you’re watching the same ticking clock - whether you’re twenty-five or sixty-five - and have thoughts, skills, or critiques, I’d love to compare notes.

Feel like discussing ways to add extra pages to the story?

We can end our dependency on fossil fuels!

Did you know there's already a biofuel available today that's not only price-competitive with gasoline but also cuts greenhouse gas emissions by around 80%? It's called Bioethanol.

But here's the catch: Bioethanol is mostly produced from corn and sugar cane. In the US and EU, between 35% and over 50% of corn is already dedicated to bioethanol production. Simply put, we don't have enough land to scale this approach further. This land limitation is the primary political barrier preventing widespread adoption of E100 fuel (100% bioethanol), which Brazil successfully uses due to lower population density and favorable agricultural conditions.

I founded AXF Energy to work on a potential solution: Producing bioethanol efficiently and sustainably using cyanobacteria. Our method requires only about 20% of the land compared to traditional corn or sugar cane methods and achieves nearly 100% greenhouse gas reductions.

Besides hopefully being a solution for the transport industry, the same technology can recycle the CO₂ emitted by heavy industries such as steel and cement, turning it into bioethanol or biomethane, this way being a credible path to decarbonising two of the world’s biggest polluters.

Others have tried to produce fuel using cyanobacteria cheaply before. But we have fully optimized the building, the process and the organism, using gene-editing. It's working in the lab, and we are currently working on building a proof-of-concept plant in Spain to prove it beyond doubt.

Interested in learning more or discussing this vision together?

Could biogas improve life for 500 million people?

Right now, half a billion people around the world live without electricity - primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia. Their daily lives depend entirely on subsistence farming, a challenging way of life that's vulnerable to droughts, pests, and diseases. Without access to machinery and technology, these communities face constant uncertainty.

Bringing conventional electricity infrastructure to such remote regions is complex and costly. Might there be an alternative that delivers real improvements sooner?

Biogas is one promising option. Using only organic waste and simple containers, it can be produced almost anywhere. This renewable fuel can power everyday essentials such as cooking stoves and refrigerators - both of which can be built locally at low cost - without relying on an electrical grid.

Biogas could also transform agriculture. Older tractors, often discarded by wealthier nations, can be refurbished, shipped, and converted to run on biogas. Pair these machines with local biogas production, and subsistence farmers could dramatically raise their productivity without large-scale installations.

Could adopting biogas technologies offer a faster, more accessible path to better lives and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people than building expensive electrical infrastructure?

I don’t have much time to advance this alone, but I’m happy to discuss possibilities. If you’re interested, please reach out.