Project description
Mushroom agricultural waste finds new life in advanced construction materials
The construction sector is increasingly focused on sustainability by sourcing renewable and recyclable resources and reusing materials where possible. One of the key industry objectives is to replace formaldehyde-based resins with environmentally friendly ones. Supporting these goals, the British SME Mycotech has developed Mycotaff, an advanced biomaterial using the fibrous vegetative part of mushrooms, the mycelia, as a non-toxic binder agent. Using agricultural waste in this way will lead to affordable, durable and recyclable building materials. The EU-funded Mycotaff project is supporting the technological and business actions needed to commercialise this revolutionary building material.
Objective
Mycotaff is an advanced bio-material designed using mushroom mycelia as a non-toxic binder agent that enables the production of affordable, environmentally friendly and recyclable building materials, for a wide range of applications, from agricultural waste. Mycotaff materials have a low embodied energy and can be manufactured for a cost ~80% cheaper than those made from traditionally used materials such as gypsum board or clay brick. It is ten times more lightweight than these materials and has better production efficiency, allowing for faster construction. Mycotaff is a toxin-free green technology that complies with all imposed EU regulations, is fully biodegradable, and is produced with abundantly available agricultural waste. Its production produces 90% less carbon emissions compared to typically used materials. It is easily customizable for its range of applications, Class A fireproof, and has a low U value of 0.16 W/mK making it an ideal material for insulation, packaging and other building applications.
The SME Instrument project aligns itself perfectly with the innovation strategy and mission of Mycotech: to commercialise an affordable, sustainable, and durable biomaterial. Mycotech’s products for building materials (panelling and insulation) will be the technology’s initial test-bed. The results of the project will allow the company to move forward also with the other future applications (packaging, pallets, prefabrication walls etc.).
We have developed strategic partnerships with several leading research institutions and companies involved in big impact projects in the field of bio-based construction. Mycotech’s ambition is to disrupt the building materials market by producing sustainable products with high quality and design that has previously been impossible.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
E9 5EN LONDON
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.