Myco - shaping the mycelium for a sustainable future
We’re a biotech startup. We research, develop and produce functional 100% natural materials from fungal mycelium and waste from the agricultural and wood processing industries. We source all of our raw materials from renewable sources that are readily available locally. Our products are 100% degradable by natural processes and therefore harmless to nature (on the contrary, they serve as fertilizer). No harmful chemicals are used in their production and no additional waste is generated.
Cross-border/international
Czechia
Czechia
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-01-01
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): myco s.r.o. Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: David Last name of representative: Šohaj Minařík Gender: Male Nationality: Czechia Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Orlí 483/1 Town: Brno Postal code: 602 00 Country: Czechia Direct Tel:+420 774 120 460 E-mail:info@myco.cz Website:https://www.myco.cz
Myco is a young biotechnology company engaged in developing and producing biocomposite material from industrial waste and fungal mycelium, replacing existing synthetic packaging materials with a biodegradable alternative - myco material.
Due to its very similar structure, mouldability and properties such as flexibility and strength, myco material can replace polystyrene foam, various single-use plastics and possibly materials bonded with harmful chemical binders such as OSB and MDF.
As an eco-friendly startup, we consider the main advantage of our product to be its biodegradability - after use, our product will automatically decompose by natural mechanisms - biological pressure from microorganisms and weathering. It can be scattered around the garden or disposed of in compost or bio-waste. The beauty of natural things is that they are automatic - no collection, recycling lines or additional energy burden is required for recycling or upcycling. The icing on the cake is that they leave behind no harmful substances and even enrich the surrounding soil with nutrients.
Another advantage of the material is that, due to the local nature of its production, it does not have a large carbon footprint (unlike synthetic polymer materials transported over long distances). Input materials are readily available from local sources - in our case, it is sawdust, paper or hemp shavings.
Last but not least, the production of myco material is energy efficient, it does not use harmful chemicals or generate additional waste. The local availability of raw materials, the low energy requirements for production and the spontaneous natural biodegradability make the material sustainable and suitable for future mass use
Circularity
Biodegradability & Sustainability
Local production
Industrial use
A real ecological impact
Our main objective is an environmentally friendly and sustainable product on the market, usable on an industrial scale (i.e. in large volumes), replacing some unsustainable and environmentally harmful materials.
Myco is a perfect example of a company that wants to change the world to be a better place to live for future generations with its product. We build our production process on three core values - true biodegradability, circularity and localism.
The feedstock for the production of myco material is natural waste from the agricultural and industrial sectors. In our region it is primarily waste from the wood processing industry, i.e. sawdust. By emphasising the use of local resources, we reduce CO2 emissions generated during the transportation of input materials from longer distances. In addition, using waste from local industries also supports local economies and reduces the amount of waste produced in the region.
As consumer interest in greener solutions increases, so does the number of companies actively seeking these solutions. Often, however, these are so-called greenwashing, i.e. seemingly 'sustainable' solutions that have an equally negative or even worse impact on the environment. An example of this is bio-plastics, which, although largely biodegradable, are still based on petroleum and, unlike conventional plastics, only chemicals are added to them to speed up their decomposition, but despite this, these plastics leave behind environmentally harmful microplastics.
In contrast to the seemingly eco-friendly versions of plastics, myco material is made up of only natural ingredients. This makes it fully degradable by natural processes. It does not leave any harmful substances or microplastics and is also able to enrich the surrounding soil through decomposition. Our products are produced by the principles of the circular economy. The diagram in the attached files illustrates the process.
Using mycelium products instead of non-organic options such as plastic packaging has many aesthetic advantages.
Mycelium is a natural material that creates a strong connection with nature and helps people feel more connected to the environment. Mycelium offers a natural aesthetic that differs from man-made plastics and provides the feeling of a high-quality, handmade product. Additionally, mycelium can come in a variety of textures and colours, providing a wide range of options for designers and artists.
Throughout history, humanity has moved away from the natural world and has come to prefer perfection and control over nature. It is important to remember that natural imperfection is a natural part of the world and has its own beauty. Using natural elements and embracing imperfection in the industry can greatly help to address some of the global climate issues and reduce the negative impact on the environment.
Accepting natural imperfections could help people develop a more harmonious relationship with nature, and thus help develop a more positive attitude towards environmental protection.
A concrete example is the cooperation with Sonnentor, a producer of teas and spices. This collaboration has resulted in a unique packaging material which, in addition to sawdust, is based on a mixture of shredded compostable waste from tea production and wood waste. Boxes made from this customised packaging material are used by Sonnentor as gift packaging for organic products. The customer therefore not only receives an eco-friendly product but also eco-friendly packaging. Our packaging, therefore, forms a single unit with the products.
Another example we would like to mention is the cooperation with companies in the funeral industry, for which we produce completely biodegradable urns made of myco material. Many city cemeteries are beginning to struggle with the lack of space for storing conventional urns. Myco urns offer nature a non-polluting solution.
Using myco materials in the industry has several benefits in terms of inclusion. Leaving aside the already mentioned fact that it is an environmentally friendly option that can help reduce the negative impact of packaging materials and industrial waste on the planet, there are several other benefits important to mention.
Myco materials can be produced locally almost anywhere in the world, which not only provides economic opportunities for small farmers and rural communities, helping to promote economic inclusion and reduce dependence on imported goods, it also offers solutions for areas that are often affected by environmental degradation due to excessive industrial waste.
Simply put, if there is a quantity of natural waste in a certain area that contains at least one of the substances such as chitin, linen or cellulose, this material can be used as a binder and can therefore be shaped into the required forms by means of mycelium.
The production of our products made of myco material does not pollute the company's surroundings in any way, no harmful substances are emitted into the atmosphere and the entire production process is energy-efficient. A somewhat hidden, energy-saving feature of using mycelium is the fact that it does not need to be recycled. Its natural recycling is ensured by a natural degradation mechanism, proven over millions of years, caused by ubiquitous micro-organisms in cooperation with weathering. These factors do not require any expenditure of energy or money by man. In other words, where the mycelium ends up, it will automatically be broken down into nutrients that will be reused in the natural food chain without any demands on humans. This can be seen as a significant added value for consumers, as products made from myco material do not place high demands on the user and its proper disposal.
The energy efficiency, the valuation of waste or the use of waste input, the financial advantage and the obvious full biodegradability of mycelium-based materials make them the perfect sustainable product of our time, which could benefit not only the current generation but especially the generation to come.
Beyond this, Myco offers a number of benefits to society, one of which is helping to develop the region and providing employment opportunities for local people. One of the key benefits is the benefit of local employment, with our company giving jobs to local people and helping to develop the economy of the region.
As one of the few green startups in the area we are based in, our company also tries to motivate not only our employees but also the general public by showing that it is possible to do a successful project with a focus on ecology here too. This project is developing successfully so far, and we have recently celebrated successes in various competitions, such as winning the national round of the E.ON Energy Globe environmental competition 2022.
Myco's implementation team consists of 4 members - founders and key employees. The father of the idea, the founder and CEO of the company - MFA David Šohaj Minařík, who started to implement this project in domestic conditions. Later on, he teamed up with material engineer Ing. Jan Ostrezi and together they founded the startup Myco. Currently, David's work focuses on the biological part of the production, ensuring the cultivation of the mushroom and innovative solutions within the material composition. He has extensive experience in the preparation and implementation of research on the absorption properties of biodegradable mycelial materials.
The co-founder of the company, CTO, Ing. Jan Ostrezi - material engineer and technologist, who uses his rich experience in the automotive manufacturing industry. In the company, he is mainly responsible for the technological part of research and its operational management, design and prototyping of products. CSO, Ing. Martin Janča works in the company as the main sales manager. Martin's job is mainly communication with customers, the business part of the project and close cooperation with production. The last of the four partners is Ing. Vladan Košut, CMO, who is responsible for marketing: communication, company promotion, public relations and the proper functioning of Myco's corporate identity.
As it is usual with start-up companies, without the support of investors, this whole project would hardly be at the level it is today. Myco received its first key investment from Garage Angles and JIC Ventures. This investment allowed the company to move up a level and brought it closer to one of its main goals, which is to work with myco material in large volumes, as this is the only way this project can have a real ecological impact.
Myco was founded by David Šohaj Minařík, who currently leads the company with his partners Jan Ostrezi, Martin Janča and Vladan Košut.
Founder David Minařík stumbled upon biotechnology by chance. He graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and had a well-established artistic career. However, he chose biology as one of his subjects for his artwork. Over time, he became more interested in mycology. As he was dealing with a difficult situation associated with his daughter's serious illness, he first delved into the study of medicinal mushrooms, and later began using mushrooms in the development of various materials.
After studying a large amount of literature in the field and the initial stage of development, he teamed up with his colleague and co-founder Jan Ostrezi, who was able to assist him in the field of industry and the technical feasibility of the newly developed material. Both founders saw this unique product as an opportunity to contribute to the greater use of sustainable materials and thus reduce the environmental impact on society.
Jan Ostrezi, who previously worked as a head manager of the production wing for injection technologies in an automotive company, now applies his experience to the production processes of Myco.
Over time, more experts and creatives joined the Myco team. Vladan Košut is responsible for marketing, as every startup, especially those that are environmentally friendly, need to have good marketing communication and spread information and awareness about their product and philosophy. The company also benefits from the business experience of Martin Janča and the skills of Kateřina Gálová, a student of industrial design, who among other things models visualizations and prototypes for customers.
The members of the Myco team embarked on a startup journey, often leaving their previous jobs with higher salaries, but with the vision and goal of doing something beneficial for society and the environment.
The Myco project is therefore closely related to the category Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking:
- Water -thanks to mycelium-based products, watercourses, seas, etc. will not be affected by unwanted
waste (global plastic problem).
- Waste -mycelium-based products are produced by reusing waste and its
back into production, the prototype has been validated on the basis of waste from the timber industry or
agriculture. By using waste from suppliers, we avoid the burning of these impacts, and thus the Myco project avoids unnecessary pollution of the atmosphere and water caused by spitting. (Specific example - the sawdust we take from suppliers is otherwise used to make wood briquettes for firewood).
- Construction -the project aims to develop myco products towards new innovative possibilities
use of mycelium in the construction industry - insulation boards are a concrete example.
- Nature-landscape -biodegradable materials are an effective protection for the environment.
- Sustainable production and consumption - the project responds to maximising efficiency in the production and use of natural resources based on mycelium.
The material for the production of mycelium-based products is generated only from locally available wood industry waste and agricultural residues. Compared to plastic materials, the production process is energy-efficient, which is also a great advantage in these times of multiple energy price increases. Compared to cardboard, mycelium-based material is again more environmentally friendly (paper mills and chemicals used).Myco now has several stable customers from different industries. These include Treed, which produces sustainable electronics, Florentine cosmetics, a manufacturer of organic natural cosmetics, and Goodbye, for whom we produce fully degradable urns made from Myco material. Following an increase in production volumes, preparations are underway to expand the product portfolio to include
Currently, Myco is working on the development of an innovative line that will result in a dramatic increase in production volume, product diversification opportunities and financial competitiveness compared to conventional materials. Due to production volume limits, the company has so far turned down a number of customers who have requested products in large batches. Myco s.r.o. thus offering them an innovative solution to replace non-organic and unsustainable materials with mycelium-based products. The positive impact will thus be primarily a reduction in the environmental burden caused by the use of disposable packaging materials.
Compared to our competitors in the sector of developing materials from mycelium, our company has developed less energy-intensive approaches, compared to foreign competitors, we have an advantage here in the moulding technology, where we do not use a large number of plastic moulds, which will have an impact on the complete CO2 burden of production, as well as on the costs required to put the product into production in larger volumes.
Compared to plastics and bio-plastics, the advantages already described here are obvious - the biggest environmental benefit of mycelium is that it does not need to be recycled, as its natural recycling is ensured by a natural degradation mechanism caused by microorganisms in cooperation with weathering. Therefore, no energy or money needs to be spent on these factors. Other added value of mycelium-based materials is variability, low water consumption, waste recovery, local availability and biodegradability.
If we were to name today's age by the materials used, we are clearly living in the plastic age. Plastic is one of the most amazing materials that man has been able to create. Thanks to its properties, the optimisation of the production process and its price, it has become the most used material on Earth. Plastics are mechanically superior, chemically and temperature resistant, and inexpensive. Recently, even legislative regulations have begun to point to the excessive use of plastics, highlighting the problem of their disposal after use. Concrete examples are the restrictions imposed on the catering sector (straws, food boxes, plastic cutlery), where there is a shift to alternative materials. Wouldn't it be great to be able to choose a packaging material that simply disappears after use? Wherever it goes, nature will automatically take care of it, as it has been used to doing for millions of years. The Myco project is developing and marketing just such material.
However, it is clear to us that the use of Myco material does not make sense in every situation. Our approach to our project is that we don't do naive ecology, i.e. the products that come out of our company must make sense.
Our goal is not to completely replace plastic materials with myco material, our goal is to produce an environmentally friendly and sustainable product in accordance with the principles of the circular economy, which can be produced in large enough volumes to be competitive with conventional materials. The aim is to produce a product that does not pollute the environment, uses local raw materials and is truly and completely biodegradable.
Since the production of myco material involves the use of waste from the agricultural and wood processing industries, which can be found in almost every continent in this world, it is easy to transfer its production. The production of myco material follows the principles of the circular economy. In our case (in our region), the raw materials are sawdust, waste cardboard or hemp yarn, for example. For other regions, it may be other types of agricultural waste, such as rice husks, coconut husks, and corn husks.
As an example, we would like to mention the company Sonnentor, a producer of teas and spice mixes, with whom we have collaborated to create packaging and gift wrapping for their products from their own waste from the production of their products.
The use of myco material in the industry can offer solutions to several global problems:
Biodegradability and sustainability: myco material is composed of only plant components (natural waste and fungus) and has the ability to be completely and spontaneously degradable. Its production is very energy-efficient and its feedstock is easily available, as it is waste from the agricultural and wood processing industries. Myco material can be produced in accordance with the principles of the circular economy, which is able to eliminate waste.
Locality and inclusiveness: Myco material can be produced on different continents from different types of raw materials, but always from natural impacts and fungi. In this case, the essential properties such as biodegradability and low energy consumption for production remain, only the type of feedstock changes.
