Myco4Food
- Type
- Technology Company
- Location
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Industries
- Alternative proteins, Food ingredients & products, New food processing techniques, Waste efficiency, Food safety & quality
- Domains
- Ingredients, Fungi, Plant based primary products, Beer, Processed food products
- Technologies
- Fermentation, Artificial intelligence, Sensor technology, Process automation, Biotechnology & sustainable inputs, Smart & digital, Robotics & Automation
About Myco4Food
Myco4Food ApS is a Danish biotech spinout from Aalborg University, established in 2022, that develops solid-state fermentation technology for producing protein-containing food ingredients from organic residues. The company focuses on edible fungi and aims to turn side streams such as brewer’s spent grain and other food- and agriculture-related residues into sustainable, price-competitive ingredients for the food industry.
Its core proposition is a scalable, automated bioreactor platform for solid-state fermentation. Myco4Food positions this technology as a way to improve circularity in the food system while delivering ingredients that can support taste, nutrition, and cost targets comparable to animal-based protein sources.
Core Values
- Sustainability: Myco4Food emphasizes upcycling organic waste and residual streams into food ingredients, with the goal of lowering climate impact and improving resource efficiency.
- Circularity: The company frames SSF as a closed-loop bioeconomy tool that recycles side streams into value-added products rather than treating them as waste.
- Innovation: Its approach combines traditional fermentation with modern sensors, machine learning, and AI to make SSF more controllable and scalable.
- Efficiency: The technology is presented as cost-effective, with low water use, reduced wastewater needs, and lower energy consumption than many alternative processes.
Unique Aspects
- A spinout from Aalborg University: Myco4Food was founded on years of research in fungal fermentation and plant bioresources, giving it a strong academic and technical base.
- AI-enabled SSF platform: The company says there is currently no equipment on the market for automated scaling of solid-state fermentation, and it is building a proprietary solution to fill that gap.
- Focus on brewer’s spent grain: Myco4Food has already developed SSF at lab scale and in 200–300 L bioreactors using mash from beer production, and is now working toward 3,000 L and beyond.
- GUDP-backed consortium project: In 2023, a consortium around Myco4Food received a 9.1 million DKK grant from Denmark’s GUDP programme to develop protein-rich food ingredients from organic residuals.
- Participation in the BioInnovation Institute Venture Lab: The company entered a 12-month Venture Lab programme at BII in 2022, supporting its business and technical development.