The construction materials industry accounts for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions through embodied carbon alone (total GHG emissions generated across the entire life cycle of the materials). This large carbon footprint is due to high energy processes to create materials such as cement, steel and concrete.  Conventional insulation and envelope materials — including mineral wool, XPS/EPS foams, plasterboard and steel-based systems — rely heavily on extractive raw materials, energy-intensive processing and, in many cases, petrochemical inputs. Beyond carbon, they raise concerns around circularity, recyclability, fire performance, chemical toxicity, and end-of-life waste.

Policy momentum is driving the shift toward a lower-carbon building sector and new materials

Regulatory pressure to reduce emissions in the sector is intensifying. From 2026, the revised EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) will require lifecycle Global Warming Potential reporting for new buildings over 1000m2. In addition, from 2030 all new buildings across the EU must report and comply with the Zero Emission Standard. The EPBD affects not only embodied carbon but also the operational emissions for heating, cooling and powering buildings. Operating buildings account for around 28% of global emissions, with heating and cooling responsible for roughly half of these. High-performance insulation offers a direct respose, reducing heating and cooling loads by up to 50%. This means that building envelopes alone can reduce up to ~14% of global emissions — in addition to embodied carbon reductions.

Policy momentum is also growing in the UK, where the UK Warm Homes Plan targets retrofit of 5 million homes by 2030, highlighting the scale of future insulation demand. Yet current solutions are poorly aligned with this emerging context. Synthetic foams provide strong thermal resistance but carry high embodied carbon and toxicity concerns, while mineral products are energy intensive to manufacture. Natural fibre and bio-based alternatives are lower carbon but often face challenges around installation thickness, durability, moisture resistance, certification pathways and scalable manufacturing.

This is why Mykor insulation materials, which are being scaled up within the INBUILT project, can make a real difference.

From mycelium to insulation panels: manufacturing process and certification

Mykor’s insulation materials are grown, not manufactured. They are produced through an advanced biotechnology process in which selected mycelium strains transform agricultural and industrial residues into a stable insulating technology platform. The process typically includes:

1. Feedstock preparation – sourcing and conditioning low-value residues to achieve consistent particle size, moisture content, and nutrient balance.
2. Inoculation and growth – introducing mycelium under controlled temperature, humidity, and time parameters to bind and structure the substrate into a composite.
3. Forming and curing – shaping the material into panels and stabilising it through curing to lock in performance and prevent further biological activity.
4. Finishing and quality control – checks for density, moisture content, dimensional stability, and batch consistency, 

Certification and compliance are approached through third-party validation of key properties relevant to building products, such as acoustic performance, thermal conductivity and fire resistance. Testing at EU-accredited laboratories provides independent verification and supports alignment with recognised European standards such as fire safety.

Environmental impact and scale-up within INBUILT

The environmental case for the material is driven by four pillars:

• Reduced Embodied Emissions: bio-based feedstocks and lower-temperature processing reduces manufacturing emissions. Also, Mykor’s biomaterials store biogenic carbon, delivering a large net negative impact on CO₂ emissions per m² compared with conventional panels.
• Reduced Operational Emissions: buildings use large amount of power heating and cooling buildings. Mykor’s technology provides insulative performance and heat capacity to reduce the emissions needed to keep buildings at livable temperatures and improve indoor comfort. 
• Circularity: use of low-value industrial residues as feedstock diverts material from disposal and low-value routes towards higher value construction applications. 
• End-of-life potential: bio-based composition can improve options for reuse, recovery, or bio-compatible end-of-life routes compared with petrochemical foams, depending on binder choices and local waste infrastructure.

Mykor’s insulation products are being integrated into two INBUILT demonstration sites, where their performance is evaluated under real construction and occupancy conditions, rather than in isolation. At both sites, MykoFoam will be used and be assessed for:

Acoustic performance: the porous bio-based structure of the insulation provides sound absorption and noise attenuation benefits. Testing at the demo sites evaluates acoustic comfort improvements within occupied spaces.

Thermal performance: the material supports reduced heat transfer through the envelope while providing enhanced thermal inertia, helping stabilise indoor temperatures, mitigate overheating risk, and reduce heating and cooling demand. In-situ monitoring and lab testing will assess thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, water absorption, moisture storage function and porosity.

Through deployment in two live demonstration buildings, the INBUILT project validates Mykor’s insulation as a scalable solution delivering measurable thermal efficiency, improved acoustic comfort, and reduced embodied carbon within real building systems.

This article was written by Tom Smallwood (Mykor) and curated by Giorgio Alessandro (Greenovate! Europe) for the INBUILT project.