Hoche Hour with Fabien Koutchekian, Genomines | The Deep-Tech Startup Rewriting the Rules of Mining
What if the future of critical minerals wasn't underground, but in a field?
Jus Mundi is pleased to welcome Fabien Koutchekian, Co-Founder & CEO of Genomines, for the next Hoche Hour.
For this edition of Hoche Hour, Jean-Rémi de Maistre (CEO & Co-Founder of Jus Mundi) sits down with Fabien for a candid conversation. Fabien is building something most have never imagined: a company that uses genetically enhanced plants to extract battery-grade nickel from soil, with a fraction of the emissions.
In September 2025, Genomines closed a $45M oversubscribed Series A backed by Hyundai Motor Group, Engine Ventures, and Forbion BioEconomy, and is now scaling to industrial deployment in South Africa.
His story sits at the intersection of deep-tech entrepreneurship, the geopolitics of the energy transition, the reinvention of a trillion-dollar industry, and it's one the legal, innovation, and international affairs communities can't afford to miss.
What we'll explore:
🌱 Phytomining demystified: how hyperaccumulator plants extract nickel, and why biology might be the extraction technology of the century
🌍 Critical minerals & global power: resource nationalism, supply chain fragmentation, and the next decade of international affairs
💰 Raising deep-tech capital: closing a $45M round for something most investors had never heard of
🏗️ From lab to field: the real challenge of scaling a science-based startup to industrial deployment
🎯 Building for impact: running a mission-driven company without losing sight of unit economics
This event is part of Hoche Hour, Jus Mundi's speaker series featuring exceptional thinkers at the intersection of law, technology, and global affairs. Space is limited.
Event Details
Date: 3 November 2026
Time: 12:30-14:00
Location: Jus Mundi Paris Office, 9 Avenue Hoche, 75008 Paris
Agenda
12:30-13:00 Arrival and Refreshments
13:00-14:00 Live moderated conversation followed by Q&A