Meet Lucie, CEO & Co-Founder of Newera Bio
When we talk about innovation, the spotlight usually falls on technologies, breakthroughs, and products that change the face of whole industries. But there is something more profound behind every revolutionary idea: a human being who has vision, grit, and a sense of purpose that is not to be shaken. In the heart of Newera Bio, a company that is changing the fashion industry with sustainable dye technology, is one such individual: Lucie Semenec.
Lucie isn’t just the CEO. She is the scientist, storyteller, and soul of the brand. Her journey is a unique combination of personal passion, scientific curiosity, and real-world experience all intertwined with one thread. The faith that nature has the answers to some of our most pressing problems.
The Scientist with a Story
Lucie’s path to bio-based innovation did not begin in a bright lab or a venture capital boardroom. It began in Canada, where her passion for science and nature first developed. She pursued a Master of Science degree, and she joined the world of microbiology. What fascinated her was not only the way microorganisms behaved in the lab, but the way they could alter our relation to the world.
Just like many other young graduates, she had to face the fact of repaying student loans. This pragmatic necessity led her to the medical device industry, where she was a market research analyst manager. At the time, it could have seemed like a distraction from her scientific ambitions. But in hindsight, this would be fundamental. It taught her how to turn complex science into useful business strategies, how to read markets, and, above all, how to bridge the gap between scientific insight and industrial impact.
A Chilean Mine’s Defining Moment
While Lucie’s passion for biology was constant, it needed a strong experience in Chile to transform that passion into a mission. On a visit to a copper mine, she saw something amazing: microbes that are used for cleaning contaminated landscapes.
This was no science fiction idea – this was a real-life example of how biotechnology works. These small creatures were performing heavy-duty environmental cleanup, degrading pollutants, and rehabilitating ecosystems. The realization rang deeply in Lucie. For the first time, she saw how microbes, which are so frequently associated only with disease or food, could instead be healing and transformative forces.
That was a turning point. What used to be an interest turned into a calling.
From Academia to Real-World Impact
Encouraged by that experience, Lucie pursued her scientific journey in Melbourne, Australia, and she pursued a PhD in microbial fuel cell technology. Her research was about renewable energy, specifically electricity generation from bacteria. It was state-of-the-art, rigorous, and very relevant to global sustainability goals.
Her journey didn’t stop there. In Sydney, she did a postdoctoral fellowship and plunged deeper into the field of environmental microbiology. There, she studied microbial plastic degradation and worked on how to use microbes to degrade some of the most stubborn pollutants in the world.
It was in this era that Lucie met Xin Xu, another researcher who had the same passion for sustainable science. The two hit it off immediately, not only in their research interests, but in their belief that the world needed better, nature-inspired solutions. Together, they created the groundwork for what would become Newera Bio – a company that is based on the idea that science and sustainability can (and must) coexist.
Reimagining Colour in the Fashion Industry
At Newera Bio, Lucie is applying her years of research to one of the most neglected but damaging-to-the-environment aspects of fashion: dyeing. The textile industry uses millions of tons of toxic, fossil-fuel-based dyes each year, and much of it ends up in waterways and damages communities.
Lucie and her team are challenging this norm by creating microbial dyes—vivid, uniform, and fully bio-based colors created through fermentation. These dyes are not derived from coal tar or petroleum derivatives but cultivated microorganisms grown in fermentation tanks using renewable feedstocks.
The results? Brilliant hues. Lower emissions. Zero toxic runoff. And a future where color is not bought by the planet.
A Scientist with Style
Lucie’s work is not only inspired by her scientific knowledge. It is also full of her personality and lifelong love of colour. Her sister once joked that Lucie’s side of the closet looked like it belonged to a parrot, bursting with every imaginable shade. For Lucie, colour has always been a way of expression, a source of pleasure.
Now, she pours that love into a larger mission: to restore joy to colour, but without any harm. At Newera Bio, she is ensuring that the richness of colour is available to future generations without ecological cost.
Leadership with Heart and Vision
Not only the deep scientific knowledge but also the ability to adapt, empathy, and a mission-driven approach make Lucie a great leader. With over 15 years of experience in microbiology, systems biology, and environmental science, she has tackled complex problems from renewable energy to bioremediation and plastic degradation.
But behind all her credentials as a scientist is a simple, consistent belief: that nature is the blueprint for sustainable innovation.
She is a role model not only talking about green values, but also living them. It is no coincidence that her favorite color is green, a symbol of life, renewal, and balance. Green to Lucie is not only an aesthetic, it’s a philosophy.
From Closet Colours to Global Change
Lucie Semenec is not only a CEO, but she is a pioneer where science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship meet. Her tale, from colorful childhood wardrobes to copper mines in Chile, academic labs to executive leadership, shows that the greatest innovations are usually a result of strong personal convictions.
At Newera Bio, she is part of a new chapter in the story of sustainable fashion where dyes are clean, processes are ethical, and nature is celebrated, not exploited. Her leadership is a blend of rigor and imagination, data-driven but dream-led.
The Future, Colored with Purpose
With her persistent work, Lucie is showing that science does not have to be cold or distant; it can be personal, emotional, and very human. She is making microbiology a tool of beauty and healing, and she’s inviting the world to imagine a better, brighter, cleaner future, one molecule, one garment, one colour at a time.
So the next time you read about microbial dyes or see a piece of fabric that has been sustainably dyed, remember: there’s a brilliant mind and a bold heart behind this. Her name is Lucie Semenec.
And trust us – she’s just getting started.