WPB: In Denmark, eco-conscious bicycle paths, parking areas, and roads will soon feature a sustainable innovation derived from mushrooms. A Danish biotech firm, Visibuilt, has developed a fungi-based alternative to fossil-fuel-based bitumen. Based in Copenhagen, the startup recently secured €1.3 million ($1.36 million) in funding from Denmark’s BioInnovation Institute to produce a biorenewable, fermentation-driven pavement binder.
Traditionally, roads have relied on bitumen—a petroleum product obtained during crude oil refinement—to bind sand and gravel into durable surfaces. Visibuilt, however, aims to replace this petroleum derivative with mycelium, the intricate root system of fungi.
The demand for bitumen is immense, as nearly 90% of global roads are constructed with asphalt. According to data from the International Bitumen Emulsion Federation, global bitumen consumption in 2022 reached approximately 120 million tonnes.
Visibuilt’s founder, Line Kloster Pedersen, a food technology entrepreneur, conceived the idea of using fungi for road construction while jogging on mycelium-rich forest trails in Denmark. Inspired, Pedersen began experimenting with wood-decay fungi sourced from Danish woodlands to create a mycelium-based binder. Considering that European road projects often incorporate up to 30% recycled asphalt, Pedersen also needed to ensure that the fungi could thrive even when mixed with bitumen. Within six months, she successfully developed a patentable binder.
The creation process for this binder, known as visiBIT, involves introducing mycelium to a substrate that serves as its nutrient source. This mixture is then placed in a bioreactor to encourage growth. Once ready, the visiBIT binder is sent to asphalt factories, where it is combined with recycled asphalt and rocks.
Producing visiBIT is more energy-efficient compared to traditional bitumen. Manufacturing bitumen requires refining crude oil at temperatures of 400 °C and maintaining it at 165 °C to ensure its adhesive properties. In contrast, visiBIT production avoids extreme heating, requiring only brief substrate sterilization to eliminate contaminants. Pedersen notes, “We can construct pavements at room temperature, which is highly innovative for road building.”
Road construction using visiBIT follows the same methods as with bitumen. However, unlike bitumen roads, which solidify within a day, those made with visiBIT take two weeks to cure. This delay is due to the time needed for the living mycelium to develop a mesh-like structure around the aggregate. Once the curing process is complete, a patented technique halts the mycelium’s growth.
Visibuilt isn’t alone in exploring greener alternatives to bitumen. In 2022, the Dutch company Miscancell used lignin—a natural adhesive in plant fibers derived from elephant grass (Miscanthus giganteus)—to develop a sustainable binder for roads. Similarly, in 2021, French engineering firm Colas created Vegecol, a pavement material made from plant oils and pine resin.
Visibuilt has already partnered with NCC, Scandinavia’s largest asphalt producer. The company plans to integrate visiBIT into bicycle lanes and parking lots by 2026, with roads expected to adopt the innovation by 2028.
By WPB
Asphalt, Bitumen, Road, Petroleum
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