Mykor, a biotechnology startup developing low-carbon construction products from industrial and agricultural waste, has secured £4 million in funding led by Clean Growth Fund, with participation from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund via The FSE Group, Green Angel Ventures, and support from Innovate UK’s investor partnership programme. The funding will support the scale-up of production and the establishment of a replicable manufacturing model across key markets.
The built environment accounts for approximately 39% of global emissions, including around 11% from embodied carbon in materials and 28% from operational energy use. Conventional insulation materials are typically non-renewable, high-carbon and combustible. Mykor’s biofabrication process instead grows construction products from agricultural and industrial waste streams within days using engineered mycelium strains, green chemistry additives and automated manufacturing processes. The business produces products including prefabricated walls and cavity wall insulation, while allowing contractors and manufacturers to integrate biomaterials into existing production lines and construction systems.
Mykor’s first product, MykoSIP, is a preassembled partition wall system that achieves an estimated carbon saving of approximately 23kgCO₂e per m² compared with incumbent systems. The product is designed to reduce embodied and operational carbon while maintaining comparable thermal and acoustic performance. According to Mykor, the panels use 90% less water and 40% less electricity than polystyrene alternatives.
Commercial traction includes two large offtake agreements worth £338 million with UK and European contractors. The business said tightening building standards, including the UK Government’s Future Homes Standard and implementation of the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, are increasing pressure on developers and contractors to reduce emissions from buildings.
We’ve built Mykor around the idea that decarbonising 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. 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.
Mykor addresses one of construction's most pressing challenges: reducing embodied carbon without adding cost or complexity. Their solution integrates seamlessly into existing building practices and is cost-competitive with conventional materials — delivering meaningful carbon savings without adding cost. We 're delighted to support this exceptional team as they scale commercially.
