Mushroom Material creates an eco-friendly alternative to Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), also known as styrofoam, using 95% upcycled organic waste material bonded by proprietary mycelium technology.
Problem
- Harmful environmental impact: Styrofoam (EPS) is the standard material for foam packaging, but it’s notoriously difficult to recycle, toxic to marine life, and has a lifespan of 500 years, contributing to 25% of landfill volume globally.
- Lack of sustainable alternatives: Despite the urgent need for a sustainable replacement that meets cost, performance, and end-of-life requirements, no viable alternative to EPS has emerged. Customers often resort to using cardboard as a temporary solution.
Solution
- Innovative technology: Mushroom Material’s proprietary process upcycles various organic waste streams into sustainable foam pellets that closely mimic the mechanical properties of EPS.
- Scalable production: The team has re-engineered the entire production process for mushroom-based materials, overcoming the biological constraints of mycelium to achieve scalable pelletisation using injection molding techniques.
- Market advantage: Unlike other players who struggle with the lengthy growth process and pelletisation, Mushroom Material has successfully developed a method to produce foam pellets that effectively mimic EPS.
Media Links
Type
Consumer Goods & Services, Enterprise, and Industrial & Manufacturing
Focus Area
Deep Tech, Enterprise, and Sustainability
Capital Raised (US$)
1M to 5M
Operational HQ
New Zealand
SECTOR
Advanced Materials & Chemicals, CleanTech, and Material Science
status
Current
founders
Jotinder Singh, Shaun Seaman
partnered
2024
exited
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