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Winner of the 2002 Moovjee Grand Prize, a young
company called Bysco from Nantes is behind
a process that transforms mussel byssus into
natural biosourced textile fibres. Byssus is the
filaments secreted by the molluscs so they can
attach themselves to rocks (usually thrown away
by the mussel farmers). Based in Cancale, Bysco’s
production unit collects the byssus from three of
the biggest mussel farmers in France (Normandy,
Brittany and Pays de la Loire). With support from
the Atlanpole network in Pays de La Loire, Bysco
has already won over three businesses in very
different fields: acoustic panels, sports items
and 3D printers. Its ambition is to produce
35,000 square metres of textile materials in
around two years.
When the mussel leaves its rock, the entire human
race can benefit from it. We already know the
wonderful virtues of the ocean depths when it comes
to cosmetics. Today we are discovering the sea’s
ability to produce new components. After oysters,
it’s the mussels turn to race for recycled materials.
The sea world may be endangered but it is not lacking
in ressources.
A way of remembering that in the field of new
biosourced materials, waste provides the best
alternative to raw materials. Day after day, nature
is emerging as our future industrial leader.