On the 25th and 26th of October the start-up mujō Lab in Person of Annekatrin Grüneberg and Juni Sun Neyenhuys met with Enno Kreher and Katrin Ohliger from JRS at Papiertechnische Stiftung “PTS” in Dresden. Here we came together with Birgit Kießler and Stefan Lupatsch. The aim was clear “We envision a future where materials of today supports life of tomorrow”! Two productive and energy driven days in Dresden let this future come closer.
Here the materials are designed to disappear, all while providing barrier properties and protection during the usage.
Since 2021, mujō is a Berlin-based startup working at the intersection of design and material innovation. In 2021 mujō also won “MAKE TOMORROW NEW” and since then the co-founders Anne and Juni proved that mujō stands for new possibilities.
They develop circular, brown algae-based (seaweed) packaging materials for radical biodegradation. Because: No one needs long-lasting packaging materials for short-lived products. The flexible film packagings are intended for many applications such as food and cosmetic protection. A special focus is put on the biological life cycle and the close work with all stakeholders is a must!
Birgit as part of the Fibers & Composites Team and Stefan as part of the Functional Surfaces Team of PTS both work together with mujō in a funded project. The pilot scale machinery and analytic equipment is especially helpful to bring the alginate films closer to the goal of full-scaled production.
The alginate used in mujō’s products origins from algae. The algae used by JRS is harvested at the European coast of the Atlantic by local fisherman and women. Here, local authorities and NGOs monitor the harvest closely. The alginate is then locally extracted on a large scale in a plant in Landerneau.
Commonly used in the food industry, alginate has also good film forming properties and is especially suited to produce both water soluble or insoluble films. These films have very good oil and oxygen barrier, which makes them interesting for various packaging applications.
Contact mujō: hello@mujōlab.com
Contact PTS: Birgit.Kiessler@ptspaper.de
Contact JRS: enno.kreher@jrs.de