#14 Deeptech Analysed - Coastal Protection in Peril: Saving Endangered Habitats & Mushroom Magic: A Sustainable Solution to Plastic Waste
What are this week Deeptech business & investment opportunities? 6th March - 12th March
This week…
(1) Coastal protection: a habitat in danger.
(2) Mushroom: a sustainable alternative to plastics.
Coastal Protection in Peril: Saving Endangered Habitats
By David Levy, Deeptech Expert
What is going on?
Almost three quarters of the world's population live within fifty kilometers of a coastline. A healthy coastal region maintains its natural land-sea processes, thereby supporting biodiversity and the livelihood of billions of people.
Nearly half of coastal regions around the world have been deeply affected by anthropogenic activity combined with climate change, and about eighty percent were degraded to some degree.
Facing heavy urban coastal development, naturally occurring features aren’t always there to protect a coastline, such as dunes and shrubbery, wetlands, biogenic reefs, and others. By adopting ecosystem-based management, investing in green infrastructure, and exploring nature-based solutions and emerging technologies, cutting-edge work is being done towards a more sustainable future for our coastal ecosystems.
More to be found here:
Society for Conservation Biology - Global rarity of intact coastal regions
WEF - Only 15% of the world's coastlines remain in their natural state
What does it mean?
Unsustainable urban development, sea level rise, coastal storms, geomorphic change and population growth, all combine to increase flooding impacts of coastal habitats.
Barrier islands, reefs, maritime forests, beaches and dunes are natural landscapes that provide ongoing protection to the ecology of a healthy coast, via biogeochemical processes. Urban coastal infrastructure strives to accommodate these dynamics, for successful long-term management of economic and social functions. For example, navigation channels, ports, harbors, residential housing and tourism. Advances in science and technology are stepping up, and policy makers are taking note.
Why does it matter?
💸For markets: new investment opportunities around the corner?
Upstream Tech, a sister company of Natel Energy, has developed HydroForecast, a software service that combines satellite data, machine learning and cloud computing to deliver accurate hydrologic forecast. Policy makers use HydroForecast to align operating schedules with drought and flood policies for the preservation of water and the protection of wildlife.
Natel's Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT) is a fish-safe turbine, made to replace existing hydropower plants with turbines that allow the safety passage of fish, enabling low-impact river systems that don't require dams.
Econcrete is a marine ecology-oriented company, and has found a tremendous solution to a global problem. Traditional commercial concrete has been widely used to make piers, harbors, sea walls and levees (for flood mitigation), bridges and ports. In fact, traditional concrete is the most used material in the world after water. Unfortunately, concrete is highly damaging to marine fauna and flora. It's unfit for coral and any home-seeking animals such as tube worms and oysters, an essential marine biodiversity for fisheries, flood mitigation, food security, and nature conservation.
Thankfully, Econcrete has manufactured an alternative, a concrete-like ecofriendly substance. Designed with tiny holes for small fish to thrive in, it is also a fitting home for seaweed, coral, and oysters, as well as other animal species, which also stimulate carbon sequestration, as the organisms capture CO2 for growth.
This concrete is also stronger than commercial concrete, because of biology growing. The substance emerges in a process called "bio protection", mimicking biological systems. It is however, between 5-20% more expensive than commercial concrete, depending on the project at hand. Nevertheless, this ends up being marginal when compared to the massive economic damages created by superstorms.
🧑🏿🤝🧑🏻For society: damage to the natural environment requires new business solutions.
With increased coastal development, especially when it is not mindful of the environment, coastal erosion and harmful infrastructure materials have the power to increase its natural coastal erosion pace, reduce littoral biodiversity, produce unintended changes to the morphology of a coastline, degrade natural habitats and diminish the capacity of the environment to provide us its natural resources, on which we depend.
Another example is the world's largest rivers. Only 37% of them remain free-flowing, without any man-made dams, reservoirs or other means for water control. The practice of hydropower can disrupt local communities, biodiversity and water quality.
Seagrass meadows play a critical role in sequestering carbon and supporting biodiversity in coastal ecosystems. Project Seagrass is a global charity organization devoted to the conservation of seagrass ecosystems through research, community and action. Project Seagrass are working to restore seagrass meadows by using techniques such as seagrass transplantation and marine grass seed propagation.
🔮What’s next?
Natel operates restoration hydro turbines (RHT) in Madras, Ore, Freedom, Maine and two upcoming turbines are planned in Virginia and Austria.
Only in the past few days, the difference between commercial concrete design and Econcrete's nature-based technology has become starkly visible at the Port of Malaga, Spain. Nine months post-installation, biodiversity has already developed at great speed at the Port of Malaga, as shown on Econcrete's Linkedin page. The video is available by clicking here.
Mushroom Magic: A Sustainable Solution to Plastic Waste
By Karol Djanashvili, Deeptech Expert
What is going on?
The world is grappling with the problem of plastic waste. Single-use plastics, such as straws and plastic bags, have been identified as a major contributor to environmental pollution. These plastics take hundreds of years to decompose, and as they do, they release toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment and human health. However, there may be a solution on the horizon that involves using mushrooms to replace plastic.
What does it mean?
Researchers have been investigating the use of mushrooms as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. Mushrooms have been found to have a unique property: they can grow in specific shapes and sizes, making them an ideal material for packaging and other products. The process involves using mycelium, the vegetative part of the mushroom, to grow into the desired shape and then drying and hardening it. The result is a strong, lightweight, and biodegradable material that can be used in place of plastic.
One of the key advantages of mushroom-based packaging is that it is fully compostable, breaking down within weeks instead of hundreds of years like plastic. This makes it an ideal alternative for single-use plastics that are used in food packaging and other disposable products.
Why does it matter?
💸For markets: a new business model opportunity?
The use of mushrooms could have economic benefits. Mushrooms are a renewable resource that can be grown in a variety of conditions, making them a cost-effective alternative to traditional plastic materials. As the demand for eco-friendly products grows, the market for mushroom-based materials is expected to expand, creating new job opportunities and economic growth.
🧑🏿🤝🧑🏻For society: an ecological material to invest in.
The use of mushrooms as a replacement for plastic has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, plastic waste is expected to outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050. The use of mushrooms in packaging and other products could help mitigate this problem by reducing the amount of plastic waste that is generated. Mushroom-based materials are also non-toxic, making them safe for both humans and the environment.
🔮What's next?
The use of mushrooms as a replacement for plastic is still in the early stages of development, but the potential for this material is significant. Researchers are continuing to explore new ways to use mycelium, including in building materials and textiles. Companies such as Ecovative Design and MycoWorks are already producing mushroom-based materials for commercial use, and as the technology improves, the use of mushrooms in everyday products could become more common.
The adoption of mushroom-based materials will require a shift in consumer behavior, as well as changes in manufacturing processes and supply chains. However, as awareness of the environmental impact of plastic waste continues to grow, the demand for eco-friendly alternatives is expected to increase. Mushroom-based materials offer a promising solution to this problem, and their use could help create a more sustainable future for generations to come.