Mykor Raises $5M for Low-Carbon Building Materials

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-27

A Bristol-based biotech startup is turning waste into a serious solution for the construction industry. Mykor, co-founded by Olivia Page and Valentina Dipietro in 2021, just raised $5 million (€4.6 million) to scale its industrial biofabrication technology. The company turns agricultural and industrial waste into low-carbon construction materials that are ready for mainstream use. This funding round was led by Clean Growth Fund, with backing from the British Business Bank's South West Investment Fund via The FSE Group, Green Angel Ventures, and Innovate UK's investor partnership program. It brings Mykor's total funding to $9.4 million (€8.6 million), made up of $6.9 million in equity and $2.5 million in grants. ### Why This Matters for Construction The built environment is a massive contributor to global emissions. According to Mykor, it accounts for about 39% of all emissions worldwide. That breaks down to roughly 11% from embodied carbon in materials and 28% from operational energy use. Insulation plays a huge role in cutting operational carbon, but traditional insulation materials are non-renewable, high-carbon, and often flammable. As whole-life carbon assessments become standard, developers and contractors face growing pressure to cut both embodied and operational emissions at the same time. That's where Mykor's technology comes in. ### How Mykor's Biofabrication Works Instead of mining or extracting raw materials that take centuries to form, Mykor grows construction products from waste in just days. The company combines engineered mycelium (the root structure of fungi), green chemistry additives, and closed-loop automated manufacturing to create a range of products, from prefabricated walls to cavity wall insulation. What sets Mykor apart is its business model. It doesn't just sell a single product. It operates as a technology and process platform, allowing contractors and manufacturers to integrate low-carbon biomaterials directly into their existing production lines. This scalable approach uses existing industrial infrastructure instead of relying on centralized manufacturing. ### The First Product: MykoSIP Mykor's first commercial product is MykoSIP, a preassembled partition wall. It delivers carbon savings of about 23 kgCO₂e per square meter compared to standard systems, which translates to at least 50% carbon savings. When you factor in biogenic carbon storage (the carbon captured in the material itself), the savings are even higher. And it doesn't compromise on performance. The panels maintain comparable thermal and acoustic properties to conventional options. They also use 90% less water and 40% less electricity than polystyrene versions. Plus, they're mold-free, which is a big deal for indoor air quality and building longevity. ### What the CEO Says Olivia Page, CEO and co-founder, put it simply: "We've built Mykor around the idea that decarbonizing construction cannot come at the expense of cost, performance, or practicality. The challenge has never just been inventing a biomaterial—it's been manufacturing these systems at industrial scale and integrating them into real construction supply chains." She added, "This funding allows us to scale that model further alongside major contractors and manufacturing partners globally. We're very pleased to be working with investors who understand both the urgency of the problem and the scale of the opportunity ahead." ### The Bigger Picture Mykor is part of a growing wave of startups proving that green building materials can be both sustainable and commercially viable. By focusing on industrialization and cost-effectiveness, the company is tackling the real bottleneck: getting these materials into the hands of builders at scale. With this fresh capital, Mykor plans to expand its team, ramp up production, and forge deeper partnerships with contractors and manufacturers around the world. For an industry that's under pressure to clean up its act, this kind of innovation isn't just nice to have—it's essential.