The building industry is responsible for over 30% of the total amount of waste in Europe (Eurostat, 2016). Therefore, a transition from a linear to a circular economy, where the materials will be recycled or reused, is necessary.
Fungalogic is a startup company that produces natural insulation materials, using fungi to change agriculture residual streams into useful resources. The network of fungal threads, called mycelium, grows through biomass and acts as a glue, forming a natural composite. Fungalogic is currently in the research and development phase, in which the mechanical properties (e.g. insulation properties, fire resistance and firmness of the material) of Fungalogic’s thermal insulation plates are tested and optimized.
Fungalogic has reached out to the Tesla minor and asked the students to investigate how the insulation material of Fungalogic can be brought to the market successfully.
We will investigate the conditions that make a substrate or fungi useful for making mycelium composite materials. We will give Fungalogic recommendations on possible good combinations and further research, this will speed up the research and development phase. Moreover we will look into the business side and make recommendations on a market entry strategy.
