Tom Williams - Number8

Tom Williams - Number8

From Shape the System by Vincent Turner

November 24, 2025 · 47 min · Episode 110

About this episode

Vincent Turner interviews Tom Williams about tackling methane emissions in livestock through innovative biotechnology.

About the Guest Tom Williams is the Founder and CEO of Number8 Bio, an Australian deep-tech company developing a novel way to cut methane emissions from cattle and sheep while improving livestock productivity. With a background as a senior lecturer and academic microbiologist at Macquarie University, Tom previously led a 17-person research team specialising in synthetic biology, genome engineering and industrial yeast systems. Growing up in New Zealand’s Waikato dairy region shaped his early understanding of methane’s environmental challenge, and his scientific expertise positioned him uniquely to tackle it. Today, he’s applying biotechnology, high-throughput screening and animal-scale trials to build a scalable, commercially viable climate solution for global agriculture. Episode Summary In this episode of Shape the System, host Vincent Turner dives into the surprisingly complex world of livestock emissions with Tom Williams from Number8 Bio. While methane from cows is often oversimplified as just “cow farts”, Tom breaks down the microbiology behind the problem — and how tackling methane is also a major opportunity to unlock animal productivity and farm profitability. The…

People in this episode

Host: Vincent Turner

Guest: Tom Williams

Topics covered

  • livestock emissions
  • methane reduction
  • biotechnology
  • sustainable agriculture
  • animal productivity

Keywords

  • methane emissions
  • Number8 Bio
  • synthetic biology
  • livestock productivity
  • climate solutions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Number8 Bio

Books & works: Shape the System

Places: Australia, New Zealand, Waikato

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