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PERMALIFE

PermaLife is a large-scale mycomaterials production project financed by the european union’s life program. 
THESE INNOVATIVE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIALS ARE MADE FROM ORGANIC URBAN WASTE TRANSFORMED LOCALLY BY THE NATURAL ACTION OF MYCELIUM.

 

PermaLIFE aims to respond to a double problematic of urban areas :

Coffee grounds, beer waste or sawdust, PermaLIFE produces innovative, circular and natural myco-materials on a large scale. They have unique characteristics that make them capable of replacing polluting plastic materials and mineral wools in the fields of packaging and construction.

MAIN GOAL

Nowadays, the linear production methods of industries are omnipresent. They consist in consuming resources, transforming them into products via petrochemistry before consuming and throwing them away.

The notion of waste has been pushed to its paroxysm. In a context of finite resources, this model is not sustainable.

 

In nature, the notion of waste does not exist. What is waste for one species is a resource for another. PermaLIFE therefore want to change these production and consumption habits to make them circular, thereby reducing the ecological impact and the waste produced.

Organic waste

Organic waste is increasing year after year. This represents CO2 emissions (1 kg of organic waste = 775 g of CO2) as well as a significant economic cost. For example, on a global scale, the management of coffee grounds represents a cost of more than 3 billion euros per year. This management of bio-waste is also essential to reach the 65% recycling target set by the European Union for 2035.

Insulation

The extraction of raw materials for insulation materials (e.g. plastic products, glass wools, rock wools) consumes fossil fuels, requires transportation and transformation that consume a lot of energy and contaminates water. These insulating materials are also difficult to recycle. For example, 1m2 of mineral wools represents CO2 emissions of 16.99 kg

Plastics

Every year, 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans. The North Pacific Ocean is the most impacted. It is also found in nature and in our bodies. The cumulative global production of plastic to date amounts to 7.8 billion tons. It is therefore essential to find other innovations that will slow down this production. 1 kg of polystyrene (example: frigolite) = 7.4 kg of CO2

A FEW NUMBERS

78%

The construction and packaging sectors account for 78% of the world’s plastic production.

20000000

tons of coffee grounds are thrown away worldwide each year

34%

One third of urban waste in Europe is organic waste that could be recycled and reused.

PERMALIFE’S OBJECTIVES

Mycelium as resource

Replace polluting materials such as plastic and mineral wool with environmentally-friendly materials made of mycelium.

A large-scale production line

Build an automated myco-materials production line for insulation and packaging industries.

Upcycling urban waste

Recycling urban waste such as coffee grounds, sawdust and beer waste into innovative materials.

Soft chemistry instead of petrochemistry

Produce materials based on the natural chemistry of mycelium to free ourselves from fossil fuels.

Creation of rewarding and sustainable jobs

Reintroduce productive activities in urban areas to create local, rewarding and sustainable jobs, particularly for people who are under-valued by the job market.

Competitive myco-materials prices

Be competitive with current polluting materials to represent a sustainable alternative.

Reduce CO2 emissions

Contribution to the circular economy and the bio-materials sector in the European Union.

IMPACTS DURING THE FIVE YEARS OF PRODUCTION AFTER THE PROJECT 

Reduction of CO2 emissions

The project will save 2.4 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 20 million km by car or 2,400 round-trip passengers from Brussels to New York.

Reduction of unmanaged organic waste per year

Over 500 tonnes of organic waste will be upcycled. Waste that would otherwise have been buried or incinerated.

Job creation

The project will create around twenty rewarding, sustainable jobs in an urban area for people who are far away from the job market.

Pollutants avoided

Over 400 tonnes of high-carbon products in the insulation and packaging sectors will be replaced by the same quantity of natural, local and circular products.

Cost-efficient business

Thanks to European funding, the project is targeting profits from 2026 on revenues from myco-material sales alone.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

2024 Goal :

2000

m² of myco-materials per month

5000

kg of recycled waste per month

item showcase image

January 2023

Launch of the PermaLIFE project and recruitment

June 2023

Finalization of the production protocols and plans for the new myco-materials production site

September 2023

Launch of work on the new site and recruitment

December 2023

Mid-term report on the project's impact study

June 2024

End of work on the new site

July 2024

Start of production of 500m2 of myco-materials per month

September 2024

Increase in production capacity to 2000 m2 of myco-materials per month and recruitment

December 2024

Cruise speed reached (2,000m2 of myco-materials per month from 5 tons of urban organic waste) and recruitments

PermaFungi