VTT’s Antti Aalto shares how fungal biotechnology is transforming sustainable industries — and why VTT proudly sponsors the Future is Fungi Award to support innovative, market-ready mycelium solutions.

Fungi is at the heart of a growing bioeconomy, driving innovation in food, materials, and environmental solutions. In this podcast episode, Susanne Gløersen shares how the Future is Fungi Award and Fungi Investment Collective are accelerating this nature-powered revolution.

Susanne recently spoke at the We Are Impact Collective (WAIC) conference in Belgium, sharing insights on fungi innovation and the Future is Fungi Award. Her talk highlighted how fungi-based solutions can drive impactful, sustainable change across industries.

Fungi are emerging as powerful allies in the fight for a sustainable future, with mycelium leading innovations across food, packaging, fashion, and more. In this interview with Springwise, Susanne explores how fungal breakthroughs—and the Future is Fungi Award—are transforming industries and accelerating climate solutions.

Since winning the inaugural Future is Fungi Award, Aalborg University researcher Jens Laurids Sørensen has made remarkable progress on his fungal pigment-powered bio-battery. What began as a bold idea is now a working prototype—bringing his vision of sustainable, nature-based energy storage closer to reality.

At ChangeNOW 2025 in Paris, our founder Susanne Gløersen represented The Future is Fungi Award among a growing field of fungi-focused innovators. From groundbreaking materials to circular waste solutions, the conference spotlighted the expanding role of mycelium-based startups — with a noticeable rise in female-led initiatives driving the change.

Visibuilt’s fungi-based asphalt binder is featured in Nature Magazine! A huge milestone for sustainable infrastructure.

Innovation in Action: At Davos, The Future is Fungi Award showcased how fungi can tackle major environmental challenges. From leading a discussion at Innovate 4 Nature to hosting a session at Standard Chartered, we’re putting fungi on the map.

Susanne (founder of The Future is Fungi Award) will speak at the panel “Thriving Together: Redesigning A Regenerative Economy that Aligns with Living Systems” at the House of Impact during Slush in Helsinki in Finland.

The Future is Fungi Award`s founder Susanne comments in an article about mycelium applications in the seafood industry, bu US based Mongabay which has millions of readers.