Tapasvi Bhatt is a PhD researcher at NTU Singapore specializing in sustainable cold chain technologies. His work brings together thermal engineering, machine learning, computational modeling, and bio-based materials to develop smarter, more sustainable solutions for transporting temperature-sensitive products. He is also the recipient of the 2026 METTLER TOLEDO Innovator Award for his work on mycelium-based cold chain packaging.
Human Transcribed
Tapasvi Bhatt:
The cold chain industry produces almost 1.3 billion tons of carbon emissions annually, almost equivalent to how much a country like Japan would produce. But because we are envisioning something like replacing those VIPs and polyurethane with our mycelium composite, it does not need a very specific machinery or industry for it to get composted. You could just throw it anywhere and it is going to disappear.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Could the humble mushroom be the answer to helping the cold chain industry become more sustainable?
Micah Schweizer:
According to today's guest, a new mycelium storage box can be used again and again and has the potential to scale up quickly.
Chai Nussbaumer:
In this episode, we're talking to a scientist who won the 2026 Mettler Toledo Innovator Award for this new idea.
Micah Schweizer:
We'll find out exactly how mushrooms are turned into cold storage, see how digital twins are used to track internal box temperature, and check out some other cool uses for mycelium.
Chai Nussbaumer:
I'm Chai Nussbaumer.
Micah Schweizer:
And I'm Micah Schweizer. This is Balancing the Future from METTLER TOLEDO.
Chai Nussbaumer:
On this show, we explore the world of science and technology and the solutions transforming our lives.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
My name is Tapasvi Bhatt and I'm a mechanical engineer who is currently pursuing a PhD in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. As a part of my PhD, I do a lot of research, which is in the applications of cold chain logistics. I've got a background in thermal science heat transfer. So those are the applications which I look for in the cold chain area with specific focus on sustainability and also the digitization of the same.
Micah Schweizer:
So before we get into your specific work and what you've developed, let's talk a bit more broadly about what cold chain thermal management is or cold chain technology is. Can you give us an overview of that?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
All right, sure. So cold chain is something which is probably part of everyone's lifestyle. So in general, let's say if you consume any kind of seafood or anything which is like frozen drinks or if you've ever got any vaccine shots, you probably used cold chain in the life, but it doesn't come to your face. It is like working behind the screen. So whenever you are consuming something which comes from a long distance away, it comes in a very specific temperature range while it is being transported. And that is what cold chain is about. And it is quite a big industry, which is almost in the range of two to three billion dollars per year.
Micah Schweizer:
And it must be quite complex because supply chains can be very long. And so if you have a vaccine or a frozen shrimp or whatever it is that has to get from point A to point B, those could be very far apart. So what kinds of logistical challenges is cold chain addressing?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So let's take the example of vaccines. So vaccines are typically transported in the temperature range of two degrees to eight degrees Celsius. And even if the temperature goes beyond eight degrees Celsius, even by 0.1, the vaccines are prone to get spoiled. So the cold chains face this problem that they need this very specific temperature range. And also this transportation is quite energy intensive. I mean, ideally you could just have one refrigerated van and it could transport everything to the original destination, but then that's very, very energy intensive process. So what they do is they take some cold boxes in which they prefreeze the item and then they put some thermal insulation to prevent the heat from getting in. And then that's how they transport. So they need to make sure that within the timeframe in which the product reaches the final destination, the temperature is maintained. So that is one thing.
Another issue which I've focused on is that the materials which are being used inside the cold chain for the insulation are not biodegradable. So the main issue is that you could pack up everything in the cold box and then put it back at the destination. But the cost of sending the empty box back to the original source is much more than creating another box and then packing stuff and sending it back. So every cold box ends up in landfill.
Chai Nussbaumer:
So in essence, they're all single use and not sustainable.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Yes, correct.
Chai Nussbaumer:
And what about the materials that they're made of? Are these generally non-biodegradable, hazardous to the environment potentially?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So there are different kinds of cold boxes. If you want to go to the premium side of cold boxes, there's something called VIPs, which is vacuum insulated plates. They are extremely thermally insulating and they're made out of something called fume silica. It uses vacuum to create the insulation inside the cold box that's quite environmentally harmful because it doesn't biodegrade well. It takes years, it takes several years. And then there are some other alternatives which are petrochemical based, for example, petrochemical foams or polyurethane or even thermocol. So these are the three most commonly used cold chain insulators which are used inside the cold box. But then again, these three are also not good for the environment. They take a lot of years to biodegrade and some of them, they end up in landfill or seas, but they do not biodegrade.
Chai Nussbaumer:
So Tapasvi, you won the 2026 Mettler Toledo Innovator Award for your new cold storage technology. A huge congratulations to you.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Thanks a lot, Chai.
Chai Nussbaumer:
So how exactly does your technology work?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
All right. So regarding my technology, I had two problems in mind. One was that the cold chain has this issue of not being able to send the empty box back again to the source. So we had to look for some alternatives of the insulation, which is completely biodegradable. So we were thinking of something in the direction of which is thermally insulating but is also biodegradable. So we began with searching into what are the natural insulators which exist in the industry or which exist in the environment or nature.
There is a specific fungus called mycelium. If I take the scientific name of the same, it's called Ganoderma Lucidum. That is something which can act as a binder and it has very good thermal properties. It's a good insulator. And then we took three specific recyclable stuff, which is recyclable cardboard, rice, husk, and oats. So we grind them all up and then we make a substrate out of it. And then we put the mycelium culture on top of it so that mycelium grows and binds everything together so that it forms like a sheet. You could choose the specific shape of the sheet or specific size of the sheet depending on your needs. And then the benefit of this is that you could use that in the cool box and it acts decently well as an insulator. But later on when you throw that away, let's say if you just bury it inside the soil or you just throw it away, it's going to disappear in 10 weeks. So that was one thing.
There is another issue with the cold chain, which is as I spoke previously about the temperature range. So there are quite sensitive products like vaccines and sometimes even very costly foodstuff, which is being transported, which cannot afford to go beyond the temperature range. So people usually think of putting a temperature sensor inside the cold box and that way they can measure the temperature inside so that they know that the product inside is safe within the temperature range. But then again, for the sensitive products like vaccines, you might not want to put a sensor inside because it might contaminate the stuff inside. So we also developed a digital twin, which digital twin is a general term which is used for any product which you can bring up just into your laptop as a digital entity. And we built a digital twin which could predict the temperature inside the cold box just by knowing the temperature outside.
Micah Schweizer:
So based on the thermal properties of this mycelium sheet, you can predict how cool it is inside the box relative to the outside.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Yes, correct. So just outside the box, if you could put a temperature sensor and if you know what are the properties of the insulation and the cardboard outside, you could essentially predict what is the temperature inside the cold box at any time during the transportation.
Micah Schweizer:
And you said sheets on which you grow this mycelium, this fungus.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Yeah.
Micah Schweizer:
Is the sheet within a box or do you make the box out of the sheet itself?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So there are two things. One is the cardboard outside. So just normal cardboard, which is like one or 2m thick. And just inside that, usually that is how the cold boxes are. They have a cardboard outside, then there is an insulation, and if required, they put some ice packs inside for cooling. What we are replacing in the cold box is the insulation. So instead of, let's say a VIP or a polyurethane foam, we are putting our mycelium-based composites, the sheets.
Now this sheet, depending on what applications you're looking for, you could have thicker or thinner sheets, but as of now, they are in a cuboid form. So then you put on all the six faces of the cold box and that is how insulation is provided on all the sides for the cold box.
So before you've thrown them out in the soil, how long can you keep on using it? We have samples which have lasted almost a year as of now, because we started this research almost two and a half years back. The samples are still in very good state. I mean, you could use them still, but we don't know how long is it going to last. But the major application for which we built this product was for cold chain applications. And the major issue with the cold chain is that it is a single use industry. So something which stays even for two months is a very good product for the cold chain.
Micah Schweizer:
And you mentioned that it performs well for a bio-based material. How does it compare to the standard insulating materials that are used right now in cold chain?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So if you want to compare the thermal properties, then VIPs are top-notch. They produce a thermal conductivity of 0.003, which is like 10 times more thermally insulating than what we have created. But they are used for very specific cryogenic applications which are not so common. But if you want to talk about food stuffs in general, they use petrochemical forms like thermocol or polyurethane. They have thermal properties which are almost in the range of what we have produced 0.05 or 0.03, which is comparable. So we believe that we have created something which has practical use. Although it cannot be used for very specific rhyzomic applications, but for the majority of the foodstuff and even few of the vaccines, we could very readily use this mycelium-based composite.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Hey, Micah.
Micah Schweizer:
Hey, Chai.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Micah, would you like to hear about some other applications for mycelium composites?
Micah Schweizer:
Of course.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Well, there are actually quite a few. For example, mycelium has been used in building materials like bricks, acoustic panels, and even insulation. Mushroom insulation is particularly effective because it's the same thermal properties that Tapasvi is interested in.
Micah Schweizer:
That's fascinating, but I can imagine there's some work still to do before this can be used on a larger scale. However, the idea of mushroom buildings is pretty cool.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Yeah. Actually, the idea has become a reality over the last 12 years. For example, the growing pavilion in the Netherlands and the Hy-Fi Pavilion in New York City are both structures that use mycelium building materials in their construction.
Micah Schweizer:
Okay.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Both really look like they fell to earth from an alien planet. They are so impressive.
Micah Schweizer:
Amazing. And what other uses outside of construction might there be for mycelium composite?
Chai Nussbaumer:
Well, there's clothing, jewelry, furniture, and even coffins.
Micah Schweizer:
So are we on the cusp of a mushroom revolution?
Chai Nussbaumer:
We could be, maybe one day. But for now, it looks like it will take some time before these ideas become commercially viable. We'll just have to wait and see.
Micah Schweizer:
Part of making mycelium composites mass marketable is ensuring that they're durable. So going back to Tapasvi's, how long do they last?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Let's say we take the minimal case of one year still, you could have mass production of such items. And then it depends on a lot of things, which products are you transporting? How much time does the transport take? And from which location are you transporting? And from where the manufacturing of the mycelium composite is taking place. So I think there are a lot of factors for us to determine. Are we going to mass produce it in one go or are we going to make them on the go? But I believe it could be mass-produced for six months duration. That is surely possible.
Chai Nussbaumer:
And going back to composting, how easy would it be to compost for customers? Do you envision a world where there will be big composting centers instead of mini trash dumps?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So if we talk about VIPs or if we talk about the polyurethane foams, the cold chain industry itself produces almost 1.3 billion tons of carbon emissions annually. And if I want to compare it is almost equivalent to how much a country like Japan would produce. So it's like a big thing. But because we are envisioning something like replacing those VIPs and polyurethane with our mycelium composite, that is surely possible. The thing about composting of mycelium is that it needs some contact with soil, or you could even just bury it and it is going to disappear. So it does not need a very specific machinery or industry for it to get composted. You could just throw it anywhere and it is going to disappear.
Chai Nussbaumer:
Wow. And let's look into the future. So what are the next steps needed to achieve a wider impact on your technology?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
I think the biggest roadblock in terms of scalability is the duration of the growth of mycelium because currently it takes almost 21 days. So we are looking into alternatives which can grow in seven days. But still again, if you talk about the production of other currently used insulators, they do not take so much time. You can mass produce such stuff and it is going to stay without destruction for five years, 10 years. So this is one thing where I think mycelium needs more research on how you could utilize that in the cool chain industry. Another issue with the scalability is storage. Because during the growth of the mycelium, it does take up a lot of space. So the machinery which we are using as of now, because it requires a very specific temperature, all the humidity is not much of a concern, but temperature range is very well required.
So we have grown mycelium in 25 degrees, 35 degrees, 45 degrees Celsius. So this range surely works, but then more tests can be done in colder environments to see how well the mycelium grows. So I think this is a pivotal fundamental study in terms of using mycelium for cold chain logistics, but then more research is going to identify how we can scale it up more and more for global usage. I do not envision it right now replacing VIPs and polyurethane foams completely, but surely if industries do take up such biodegradable options, gradually more and more research is going to happen and people are going to adopt to such good measures for the cold chain.
Micah Schweizer:
Speaking of more research and development around this solution you've developed, have you patented what you've developed so far?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
We are currently in the process of patenting it, and I think it is going to take a few more months as of now for the patent to finally be released.
Chai Nussbaumer:
And have you found any partners that can help you bring the boxes to the market?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So once the patents is going to be out, I think we'll be looking for more partners who could help us who are already working in the cold chain. We have already partnered with a company called Aris Logistics, and they are in the process of testing out our products specifically while shipping out specific food products, specifically from China to Singapore. So the initial tests are very soon to be conducted and later on I think if the tests perform well, then we could gradually pitch up our idea to the market leaders and let's see how it goes.
Micah Schweizer:
What kind of response did you get from people you initially approached about your solution?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
So the major issue which the industry people have with bio-based solutions is that they are not reliable. Because let's say if you take any VIP, they'll have a very fixed thermal insulation value. 0.003 means 0.003. It is not going to vary much. If you take polyurethane foams, if you take thermocol, 0.04 means 0.04. It is not going to change much. But because we are going mycelium on top of agricultural substrates, depending on from where you procure the cardboard, from where you procure the oats, from where you procure the rice husk, the properties are going to vary a bit. So because of that, the industries find that relying on bio-based alternatives is a bit risky.
And this was the reason why we thought of also building a digital twin, which would prove that the temperature inside the cold box is still within the range. This question which you asked was the key for us to think in the direction of why do we need a digital twin out of it. So just by measuring the temperature outside, we could get the temperature inside. Like we showed with a few experiments and lab tests that this mycelium is performing well and without even measuring the temperature inside, you could still be sure that the product inside is safe.
Micah Schweizer:
And I suppose there's also the implication that, with this digital twin, you're implying that the properties of the insulating sheets, the mycelium, that it has a certain reliability because otherwise you couldn't do that calculation.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Yes, correct. The mycelium has specific thermal properties, which is going to vary in a range which is not adversarial to the product inside. It's still within the range.
Micah Schweizer:
And that's what partners need to hear. That's what shippers need to trust that the product can deliver.
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Yes, correct. Yeah.
Chai Nussbaumer:
And we are so fascinated with your technology. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
Tapasvi Bhatt:
Regarding this mycelium, I believe that this is something which is new, which has come up in the industry, very much like if you talk about AI. AI was there in 1980s, 1990s, but now is when we are finally seeing the use of AI in ChatGPT or Claude and there are tons of models which are going on. So depending on how fast people adopt such things, we cannot predict how soon will such things become a mass scale usage in the world. As of now, it has been five to 10 years since people have started using it in R&D. So I believe it might take a few more decades for it to be finally adopted if it is adopted on larger scale in the world.
And I believe the use of mycelium is also going to increase once the industry becomes more and more responsive to the environmental concerns. Because as of now, what matters is how much does it cost for shipping the empty box back to the source. So gradually, if there could be policies by the governments or the United Nations or something, then I think the adoption of such things would be on a rise.
Chai Nussbaumer:
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Micah Schweizer:
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