University of Nottingham Leads £1.4m Mycelium Packaging Project to Replace Polystyrene
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The University of Nottingham will lead a two-year, £1.4 million research partnership with Swansea University, the University of Bath and Magical Mushroom Company to develop mycelium packaging as an alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS).
The work will study how fungal biology, composite structure and fluorine-free surface treatments affect strength, impact absorption and moisture resistance, with factory trials assessing consistency, throughput, defects, energy use and cost.
The programme targets a commercial gap: EPS is widely used but persistent and petrochemical-based, while UK businesses face a plastic packaging tax and recycling fees.
The University of Nottingham has secured funding to lead a £1.4 million, two-year research programme on mycelium protective packaging. Announced on 4 November 2026, the partnership includes Swansea University, the University of Bath and an industrial partner, Magical Mushroom Company (MMC). Support comes from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through its Materials Innovation Partnerships programme. The aim is a sustainable alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS) in protective and transit packaging.
The Case Against Polystyrene
EPS is the product widely used today for lightweight cushioning and impact protection. According to the university, its persistence in the environment, potential to fragment into microplastics, limited recyclability and reliance on petrochemical feedstocks all point to a need for better options.
Regulation adds commercial pressure. Businesses in the UK face a tax on plastic packaging made mostly from new rather than recycled plastic, plus fees to cover the cost of collecting and recycling the packaging they use. As e-commerce continues to drive demand for protective packaging, the university describes an immediate need for high-performance, biodegradable alternatives.
What the Researchers Will Test
Mycelium is the network of fine filaments produced by fungi. As it grows through agricultural plant material, it binds the fibres into a moulded composite. The project will investigate how fungal biology, feedstock structure and processing conditions can be controlled to improve strength relative to weight and to deliver more consistent material properties. Consistency is among the barriers facing mycelium-based materials more broadly.
The team will also establish how a composite's internal structure affects its ability to absorb impacts, withstand repeated loading and retain performance during humidity exposure. These findings are intended to help define which materials suit particular packaging applications.
Coatings and Characterisation
Swansea University leads the work package on coatings. Dr Shirin Alexander, Head of the Department of Chemistry, says the team is combining materials chemistry, engineering and biological systems, working with Professor Davide Deganello from Mechanical Engineering and Professor Tariq Butt from Biosciences. The researchers will develop surface treatments without fluorine to improve moisture resistance, surface durability and resistance to biological deterioration under demanding storage conditions. Preserving biodegradability is a central design requirement for both the materials and the treatments.
At the University of Bath, Dr Juliana Calabria-Holley, Co-Director of the RENEW research centre, describes the project as My-Pack. Her team will apply expertise in the structure-property characterisation of porous biomaterials, using nano-scale testing, electron microscopy and sol-gel surface engineering. The goal is to optimise strength, water resistance and long-term durability.
An Industrial Partner With Commercial Customers
The partnership builds on MMC's existing commercial manufacture of Mushroom Packaging at its Beeston facility in Nottinghamshire. The company supplies established commercial customers, including Raymarine, and operates three facilities, two of them in Nottingham. Its technical team already includes two MSc graduates and one MEng graduate from the University of Nottingham.
MMC will contribute technical expertise, staff time and access to manufacturing facilities. It helped design the programme and will lead its industrial translation, with its technical team involved across all four work packages. Trials in the company's manufacturing environment will assess consistency between batches, throughput, defects, energy use and cost. The results will guide further development and help identify practical routes to commercial use.
Paul Gilligan, MMC's Founder and CEO, said sustainable packaging has to prove itself in practice rather than in marketing material. He added that, for the first time since the company was founded, it now has two quality engineers working alongside its science team. The programme, he said, should help strengthen product performance and manufacturing consistency as the business scales.
The project sits within a wider field of commercial activity. Myco and Mushroom Material are also pursuing mycelium-based packaging.
What Remains Unknown
The announcement describes the start of a research programme, not results. It reports no data on strength-to-weight ratios, impact absorption, moisture resistance or cost, and sets no numerical performance targets against EPS. It also does not say how the £1.4 million is divided between the four partners, how much MMC's contribution is worth, or when any new material might reach customers. Whether fluorine-free coatings can deliver adequate water resistance without compromising biodegradability is the central technical question, and the project has yet to answer it.
