Myceli­um com­pos­ite de­vel­op­ment for pack­ag­ing, FHNW School of Engineering and Environment

• Mycelium composite
• Biodegradable materials
• Foam materials
• Sustainable packaging
• Life cycle assessment

Mycrobez AG, a start-up founded in 2019, develops biodegradable mycelium-based composite materials as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based materials. However, these materials are still under development and require further optimization in terms of density, mechanical performance, thermal insulation, processing, and especially scalability to meet market needs.

Taracell AG, with over 70 years of experience in foamed materials, particularly EPS, provides industrial know-how to support the development of these materials.

The main goal of the project is to solve the challenges of these materials and make them a competitive solution for the packaging industry in specific applications. The material should have low thermal conductivity, good compression and impact properties, and a density below 80 g/l. In addition, the material should be scalable for large-scale production and have a low unit cost. This is addressed through the development of a suitable production line.

Different materials for three specific applications were developed. The target low density was achieved, but thermal insulation is still not better than EPS. Good compression and impact properties were obtained, showing that mycellium composite is suitable for some packaging applications.

An LCA comparison shows that the environmental impact of mycelium is much lower, confirming its ecological advantage, also supported by biodegradability tests. Fire tests were also carried out and showed additional benefits.

As EPS technology has been optimized for many years, it is difficult to directly compare the processes. The mycelium process, although still less developed, was demonstrated at proof-of-concept level with potential for scalability.