Novobiom, based in Belgium, is a biotechnology company specialising in fungal-based solutions. Novobiom believes that nature, particularly fungi and living systems, offers powerful and underappreciated solutions to environmental and societal challenges.
It was founded in 2017 by Jean-Michel Scheuren, CEO and business engineer with a background in environmental science, and Dr. Caroline Zaoui, CSO and microbiologist with expertise in microbial signalling and carbon bio sequestration.
Their goal is to create bioinspired environmental technologies that are sustainable, effective, and economically competitive, helping restore soil and manage waste in a circular, low-impact way.
Novobiom have built a biotechnology platform that uses nature's most powerful recycler, fungi, to solve two distinct environmental challenges through two complementary pathways:
1. Waste up-cycling: We take clean, non-toxic waste, such as discarded textiles and cotton blends, and use fungi to transform them into high-value, sustainable ingredients (biosurfactants). This acts as a biological upcycling loop, turning yesterday’s fashion waste into the green ingredients of tomorrow’s beauty products.
2. Precision Bioremediation of soil and waste: Novobiom leverages the potential of fungi and advanced digital technologies to restore the soil
Because Novobiom’s approach relies on living fungi powering biomimicry expertise for low-impact waste management solutions.
Compared with traditional soil treatment technologies, Novobiom claims significant reductions, reportedly over 50% lower cost and roughly 70 % lower CO₂ emissions.
This is already gaining commercial traction through field deployments, EU‑funded projects, and collaborations with major industrial players, including L’Oréal that supported Novobiom in its early-stage development thanks to both the Green Science Incubator and the Circular Innovation Fund
Jean-Michel Scheuren, CEO, and Dr. Caroline Zaoui, CSO at Novobiom said, “Joining L’AcceleratOR comes at the perfect moment for Novobiom, as we develop as a business. L’Oréal’s ambitious ‘L’Oréal for the Future’ commitments make it the ideal testing ground for our fungal technology. By working together we’re demonstrating that our solution can meet the rigorous sustainability and performance standards of the world’s leading beauty group.”