Environmental monitoring and data analytics for mycelium growth optimisation
The Innovation Exchange is supporting Magical Mushroom Company, through the InnovateUK KTN Net Zero Catalyst programme to find solutions to gather data and help optimise its mycelium growing facility. Magical Mushroom Company wishes to engage innovators to find software analytics or sensor solutions that can help get a deeper understanding of when growth has completed for a given product. The solution provider will be able to access part of a £25,000 grant award to work with Magical Mushroom Company on the delivery of a proof-of-concept trial.
Opportunity
Challenge opens
05/12/2022
Challenge closes
13/01/2023
Benefit
Shortlisted applicants will be given an opportunity to pitch their solution to Magical Mushroom Company. The final successful applicant will deliver a proof-of-concept trial with Magical Mushroom Company, to demonstrate the solution. The project team will receive a £25,000 grant award, to be apportioned between Magical Mushroom Company and the successful applicant, as agreed on a bilateral basis.
Background
Magical Mushroom Company (MMC) harnesses the natural flexibility and strength of mycelium, the material structure of fungi, to grow protective packaging at any scale, by combining it with agricultural waste such as hemp, cork and sawdust.
This offers a safe, sustainable and totally home-compostable alternative to plastic foams and is ideal for packaging, horticulture and interior design solutions. Since 2020, MMC has produced over 500,000 pieces of Mushroom®. Packaging and by 2023 it’ll effectively have removed more than 1,000 tonnes of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) packaging from landfill.
The Growing Process
MMC undertakes a growing process to produce its product and this is presented in figure 1.
MMC acquires the raw materials, (biomass and mycelium spores), that have already grown in a bag for ~4 days. MMC then fills bespoke moulds, which create the form to customer’s required shape. These moulds are loaded into trolleys and covered to generate the correct environment for growing. The mycelium grows between and around the biomass to strengthen the shape of the growing medium, which is most often hemp shives.
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