AGRIMAX - Agri and food waste valorisation co-ops based on flexible multi-feedstocks biorefinery processing technologies for new high added value applications
Around a third of all food produced globally is wasted each year. This waste occurs throughout the whole value chain, from farmers to consumers. However, wasted food contains a lot of valuable compounds that could and should be recovered.
The AgriMax project has proven the technical and economic viability of a waste biorefining process from crops and food processing to deliver new bio-based compounds for the chemical, agriculture, food, fertilisers, packaging and plastic sectors. The project has combined affordable and flexible processing technologies. These technologies include ultrasound-assisted and solvent extraction, filtration, and thermal and enzymatic treatments. These treatments have significantly increased the value of by-products from agricultural and food processing, particularly in tomato, cereal, olive, and potato processing industries.
MOGU has participated by producing mycelium-based retail packaging materials from bran and by utilizing biowastes-derived compounds in pots and containers for plants.
Website: https://agrimax-project.eu/
Funding programme: H2020-BBI-PPP-2015-02
Budget: € 12,484,461.46
Project duration: 60 months
Start date: 01/10/2016
FUNGAR - Fungal architectures
The construction industry is one of the biggest and most resource-consuming industries in Europe. Due to record growth in population and increasing urbanisation occurring all around the globe, the demand for the industry is higher than ever before. It’s also constantly increasing. This increase poses a serious problem as it stretches the industry to its limits.
The EU-funded FUNGAR project aimed to develop a structural substrate using live fungal mycelium infused with nanoparticles and polymers. This structural substrate would be able to create buildings, which will self-grow, build and repair themselves while also adapting to the environment.
MOGU has selected and tested various fungal strains and created some prototypes for building elements.
Website: https://www.fungar.eu/
Funding programme: H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Budget: € 2,856,682.50
Project duration: 60 months
Start date: 01/12/2019
GRACE - GRowing Advanced industrial Crops on marginal lands for biorEfineries
The goals of the project were to produce sustainable products with a strong market potential, to guarantee a reliable and affordable supply of sustainably produced biomass, and to better link biomass producers with the processing industry. To avoid competition with food and feed crops, miscanthus and hemp were cultivated on areas that have been polluted for example by heavy metals, or that are unattractive for food production due to lower yields.
MOGU has been a pilot case for the use of hemp and miscanthus substrates to produce mycelium-based panels for the building industry.
Website: https://www.grace-bbi.eu/project/
Funding programme: H2020-BBI-JTI-2016
Budget: € 15,000,851.21
Project duration: 67 months
Start date: 01/06/2017
CE4WE - Approvvigionamento energetico e gestione della risorsa idrica nell’ottica dell’Economia Circolare
The main objective of the CE4WE project is the development of new technologies, knowledge, and specific skills for the sustainable management of the water cycle. In particular, it aims to promote the creation of new analysis procedures and numerical models for detailed mapping of pollutants and to implement the concept of a circular economy in the integrated water cycle. In this context, water is processed and the loop closed.
MOGU has contributed to the water analysis and the use of fungi to clean the water from pharmaceutical pollutants.
Website: https://www.ce4we.eu/
Funding Programme: POR-FESR 2014 – 2020 - Asse I Rafforzare la ricerca, lo sviluppo e l’innovazione
Budget: € 8,133,660.20
Project duration: 30
Start date: 01/02/2020
MATER - Myco-Advanced leaTher matERials
The process involved the grow and use of specifically selected fungal strains and proprietary growing methods and techniques, for converting nutrient-rich substrates into 100% natural, renewable materials with leather-like properties. These advanced myco-materials are 100% renewable, recyclable and compostable, since they are the result of natural processes which fully rely on growth and cultivation. The aim of the project was to quantify the characteristics of the prototype according to EU standards and certifications and to work on improving the efficiency of the growing process as well as the quality of the final products.
MOGU has developed the biofabrication protocol and improved the techniques for creating a new product.
Website:
Funding Programme: Fondazione Cariplo e Regione Lombardia - Avviso congiunto per la concessione di contributi a sostegno del trasferimento della conoscenza nel settore dei Materiali avanzati
Budget: € 1,001,521.49
Project duration: 36 months
Start date: 20/12/2018
MY-FI - Reinventing a smart, circular and competitive textile industry with advanced myco-fibres
The aim of MY-FI is to provide the textile industry with new nonwoven fabrics made of mycelium fibres, with improved performances and reduced environmental impact in comparison with current commercially available fibres. In MY-FI, new biofabrication protocols are optimized and upscaled together with wet processing and material finishing to provide a set of innovative solutions to help the textile industry in facing the challenges posed by the complex megatrends that are quickly chagning markets and customers' lifestyles globally.
MOGU, as Coordinator, is responsible for the management of the project together with the development and implementation of the biofabrication protocol. This protocol is upscaled at pilot scale.
Website: https://www.my-fi.eu/
Funding Programme: H2020-FNR-2020-1
Budget: € 6,404,183.75
Project duration: 48 months
Start date: 01/11/2020
ATRIUM - Alternatives for an effective Transition to sustainable, Reusable and recyclable construction products by the Innovative production of User and eco-friendly bio-based Materials.
ATRIUM exploits the potential of combining natural fibres (leftovers of European crops, mainly hemp), second and third generation of bioplastics (bio-PE/PA/PU) and mycelium-based biotechnology to produce bio-composites intermediates that can be integrated in construction products (outdoor and indoor floorings, acoustic panels, green wall systems, and building block) to be easily used by professionals and amateurs in building and renovation actuations.
MOGU is testing new designs for mycelium-based panels and for flooring tiles. Together with partners, it will improve its current products and test alternatives in terms of materials.
Website: n.a.
Funding Programme: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01
Budget: € 5,425,375
Project duration: 42 months
Start date: 01/07/2024
BEST-CROP - Boosting photosynthESis To deliver novel CROPs for the circular bioeconomy
Novel crops with enhanced photosynthesis and assimilation of green-house gasses, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3), and tailored straw suitable for industrial manufacturing are the basis of the project. Beside the higher yield, the resulting barley straw will be tailored to: i) increase straw protein content to make it suitable as an alternative feed production source; ii) control cellulose/lignin contents and lignin properties to develop construction panels and straw reinforced polymer composites. To do so, the project aims to exploit barley natural- and induced-genetic variability as well as gene editing and transgenic engineering.
MOGU will use these new engineered straws to create mycelium-based panels for the architecture and interior design industry.
Website: https://www.bestcrop.eu/
Funding Programme: HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-two-stage
Budget: € 5,126,293.75
Project duration: 60 months
Start date: 01/07/2023
BIOBUILD - Innovative bio-based building materials with thermal energy storage function
The aim of BIOBUILD project is to develop and demonstrate fully bio-based building materials with thermal storage function that can replace high environmental footprint products. Our solution demonstrates functional incorporation of bio-based phase change materials (bioPCMs) into solid wood and wood fibres bound by plant oil resins, lignin, or fungal mycelia to produce novel bio-composite building materials with significantly improved thermal properties.
MOGU is Work Package Leader of the prototyping and production of the different products incorporating bioPCM. It develops non-pressed and pressed mycelium-based panels for the interior design and architecture, addressing to public spaces such as offices, stores, etc.
Website: https://bio-build.eu/
Funding Programme: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01
Budget: € 4,942,663.75
Project duration: 48 months
Start date: 01/01/2024
CISUFLO - Circular Sustainable Floor coverings
CISUFLO aims to set up a systemic framework for circular and sustainable floor coverings (carpets, resilient floor coverings and laminates) and minimise the sector’s total environmental impact. CISUFLO provides systemic innovations at the technical, information and socio-economic level and performs 6 pilots to demonstrate their feasibility and value (future flooring, sorting, separation, laminate, vinyl and textile flooring recycling). The basis for circularity is realising circular material streams. Therefore, CISUFLO focuses on the main flooring material streams: wood (laminates), PA (carpets) and PVC (resilient).
MOGU works in two pilots related to the circularity of its flooring products like the Flex and the tiles. It tries to incorporate side streams from other companies as well as to use its waste in a closed loop.
Website: https://www.cisuflo.eu/
Funding Programme: H2020-SC5-2020-2
Budget: € 9,032,625
Project duration: 48 months
Start date: 01/06/2021
EASI-ZERO - Envelope mAterial System with low Impact for Zero Energy buildings and Renovation
EASI ZERo proposes a global system to cut the environmental impact by rising the thermal performance of buildings’ envelope by 20% with bio-sourced and recycled materials. These include grown mycelium, wood fibres, low carbon foam, recycled raw material for spayed renders, multifunctional building bricks, and healthy finishes. This unique portfolio of tailored components results from manufacturing and sourcing with reduced CO2 emission and embodied energy. It will demonstrate cost-efficient and easy installation in green deep renovation as well as new construction operations. The re-use of components and the integration of recycled materials enhance circular economy by closing carbon cycle and raise resilience in the construction value chain.
MOGU is Work Package Leader and responsible for the testing and production of improved mycelium-based panels with low environmental impact and good thermal insulation properties.
Website: https://www.easizero.eu/
Funding Programme: HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01
Budget: € 8,086,602.25
Project duration: 42 months
Start date: 01/12/2022
SMART-PROTEIN - Smart Protein for a Changing World. Future proof alternative terrestrial protein sources for human nutrition encouraging environment regeneration, processing feasibility and consumer trust and acceptance.
SMART PROTEIN aims to industrially validate and demonstrate innovative, cost-effective and resource-efficient, EU-produced, nutritious plant (fava bean, lentil, chickpea, quinoa) and microbial biomass proteins from edible fungi by up-cycling side streams from pasta (pasta residues), bread (bread crust) and beer (spent yeast and malting rootlets) industries. The alternative SMART protein is used for the production of ingredients and products for direct human consumption.
MOGU conducts research on the fungal fermentation for obtaining protein enriched flours to be utilized as ingredients in new products such as bakery or alternative cheese.
Website: https://smartproteinproject.eu/
Funding Programme: H2020-SFS-2019-1
Budget: € 9,485,518.75
Project duration: 48 months
Start date: 01/01/2020
MYLIGHT - MYco LIGHTening
The project aims to produce, on a demo scale, a mycelium-based material that is ultralight, bio-based, and bio-fabricated through fungal fermentation. By collaborating with the mycelium, MOGU will be able to create a material that weighs one-third of traditional materials used for vehicle interior upholstery, thereby providing weight reduction and environmental, social, and economic benefits. The material will be functionalized through innovative techniques, achieving multifunctional properties and meeting the market standards required by the sector.
Funding Programme: CNMS – Centro Nazionale per la Mobilità Sostenibile - SPOKE 11 – INNOVATIVE MATERIALS AND LIGHTWEIGHTING
Budget: € 499,943.50
Project duration: 12 months
Start date: 01/07/2024