Eclo raises €4.7M to create a high-tech circular & organic mushroom substrate factory.
Summary
Located in the Cureghem Cellars in Brussels, the first professional facilities produced significant and encouraging results, based on a short supply-chain strategy for raw materials, through partnerships with local businesses: Cantillon Brewery for spent beer grain, the Colruyt Group and Bon Pain for organic bread. This production will increase with the closing of a Series A financing round of 4.7 millions euros, in which Noshaq, Investsud Bois, GoGreen Capital and private investors participated for the installation of a high-tech 4,200 sqm factory in Villers-le-Bouillet in the province of Li\xe8ge in early 2023. The other part of the operation, fresh mushroom harvesting and the production of microgreens and aromatic herbs, will continue to be carried out in the urban farm in Brussels. These infrastructures should generate 20 more new jobs by 2026, in addition to the 12 people currently employed for its Brussels operation.Exotic mushroom substrates are usually made from a wood base, grain, water and mycelium. It is this completely colonised substrate that will be marketed when it leaves the factory, where several varieties will be produced, including shiitake, eryngii, nameko, maitake and pompom.