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Increasing reforestation success with a novel fungi-based bio-compound material

Project description

A novel biocomposite from trees, for trees

Forests are invaluable to our planet, producing not only oxygen vital to our existence but also many natural waste products that can be used in other sectors – and now in the forestry industry as well. The Portuguese SME Spawnfoam is developing its product by the same name, a novel biocomposite using forest residues as a matrix in which to grow fungi. The biocomposite has been used to make pots that encourage plant growth by supplying nutrition and water while simultaneously protecting sensitive root systems. The EU-funded Spawnfoam project is helping the team bring these sustainable and biodegradable pots to market, enhancing the success of reforestation initiatives.

Objective

Reforestation projects have a failure rate of 25%, which generate internal project losses of around 450M€/year and reduces the financial sustainability of forestation at global level.
At the same time, agricultural and forestry production as well as various agro-industries annually produce tons of waste that can be used in the production of 100% biodegradable biocomposites, allowing a useful destination for these wastes and contributing to the circular economy.
With a central focus on the circular economy, we have created our company SPAWNFOAM specifically to commercialize our novel biocomposite material constituted by forest residues that function as a matrix that can be colonized by a fungal mycelium that will assume the role of bonding agent.
Our first application of the Spawnfoam material is a plant pot specifically engineered for the reforestation market, that increases the survival rate of plants, and also their growth, due to proprietary functionalization of our pot with specific minerals and structures that provide water and nutrients directly to plants, while protecting root systems and are biodegradable.
As a startup created in January 2017 specifically for the development and commercialization of SPAWNFOAM, this project is the core of our company’s strategy. We have secured a total of over 75.000€, of which 50.000€ from the Portuguese Environmental Fund to study the proof-of-concept of Spawnfoam and are now closing a 100.000€ grant to implement the pre-industrial proof of concept, our next milestone before large-scale implementation and global market replication, which we wish to study with the SME Instrument Phase 1 Feasibility Study.

Call for proposal

H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1

Coordinator

SPAWNFOAM, LDA
Net EU contribution
€ 50 000,00
Address
REGIA-DOURO PARK
5000 033 VILA REAL
Portugal

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Continente Norte Douro
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
€ 71 429,00