Smush materials take the GoBeyond stage

Pollution from single-use plastics is now also reduced by transforming agricultural by-products into biomaterials for packaging. Thus we start from fungi to build new natural, circular, biodegradable packaging. An alternative to expanded polystyrene with mycelium-based technology. This is the innovative idea that has become an enterprise of a Lombardy start-up that is attracting the interest of operators from all over the world. Smush materials - this is the name of the startup - won first prize in the eighth edition of the call for ideas of GoBeyond, Sisal's responsible innovation platform and a reference point for the Italian innovation ecosystem. The Lombardy-based company exploits the natural technology of fungal mycelium growth, transforming mainly Italian agricultural by-products into a composite material through a fungal fermentation process. But there is more. After use, the packaging can return to the soil as fertiliser or be disposed of as organic waste. "Our target customers reside in the automotive, electronics, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries through to packaging for heavy and bulky machinery such as lifts," says Marco Lenzi, co-founder and head of technology at Smush Materials.

The GoBeyond win comes in one of the record-breaking editions with no less than 460 start-ups applying and over 20 prizes awarded. The winning startup was awarded an equity free grant worth EUR 50,000. "With GoBeyond our ambition is to make a significant contribution to the development of the startup ecosystem in Italy. In recent years, the project has grown significantly in terms of both quantity and quality compared to its beginnings. There is not only the grant or the partnership collaboration with all the stakeholders that adhere to GoBeyond, but also the venture clienting activity where we accompany the start-ups in the development of prototypes and the first implementations in this path that must lead them successfully to the market," says Francesco Durante, CEO of Sisal. It is worth noting the significant presence of companies with female leadership, which has risen to 42%, in contrast to the Italian startup figure of 13%. Also making special mentions on the podium were Northern Light Composites, Promama, Sunspeker, BrailleFly and Develop-Players, which were awarded advisory paths made available by GoBeyond's partners, who will be able to accompany the development and growth of the start-ups. The award ceremony was attended by Simona Maschi, co-founder and director of the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. Also on stage was Annamaria Tartaglia, founder and ceo of TheBrandSitter and president of the jury, together with Massimo Carnelos, Head of the Office for Technological Innovation and Startups at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

A new feature of this edition was the Sisal Retail Challenge, with a €10,000 free equity grant to be awarded to a start-up already established with a product ready or on the market that presented an offer in the field of Sustainable Retail. Northern Light Composites, which tackles the problem of the end-of-life of fibreglass, transforming it into a circular material and significantly reducing its environmental impact, won this prize. A few months after his tragic death, a special mention was made in memory of Emilio Petrone: during his tenure as CEO of Sisal, he strongly supported the creation of GoBeyond. The prize was awarded to Develop-Players, a startup capable of integrating the values of innovation and impact that have always characterised Petrone's commitment and entrepreneurial vision.