EIC Engineered Living Materials Portfolio
Bio-HhOST is part of a portfolio of projects funded under the Engineered Living Materials Pathfinder Challenge by the European Innovation Council and started on November 2022.With this Pathfinder ELMs Challenge the EIC seeks to seize the opportunity to position strategically Europe at the forefront of the ELMs field. This Pathfinder Challenge aims to overcome the technological challenges to harness the engineering potential of nature for materials’ production. The specific objectives of Pathfinder ELMs Challenge are to support the development of new technologies and platforms enabling the controlled production of made-on-demand living materials with multiple predictable dynamic functionalities, shapes and scales; and to build a community of researchers and innovators in ELMs. ELMs projects funded from the EIC Open calls actively contribute to the Portfolio activities with the aim to advance the scientific and technological development of ELMs and promote its dissemination across Europe, increase the visibility of the ELMs community internationally by sharing knowledge and building partnerships, engage with regulatory bodies to address ELMs portfolio needs, address ethical, legal and social aspects through early engagement with policymakers and the public, and to assess and address the need for standardization in the ELMs portfolio, identify barriers to the adoption and commercialization of ELMs and engage with stakeholders, guided by responsible research and innovation methods.-
Website: https://bioaction.eu/
Project partners: 7
Key-words: tBio-hydrogels, Bactoinfection, Liposome, Phages, Hard tissue regeneration, Processing technologies
Description: BIOACTION aims at developing a new methodology in implant technology based on functionalized bio-hydrogels that will convert the negative occurrence of biofilm-associated infections, the primary cause of implant infections and failure, into a positive resource.
The main goal of BIOACTION is to transform implant-associated bacteria for the programmable production of specific proteins for in vivo cell recruitment and tissue regeneration, exploiting gene sequences loaded on engineered liposomes and phages, bound to hydrogel scaffolds. BIOACTION will develop new biomimetic substrates that can transform biofilm into extracellular matrix for the regeneration of target tissues. It will establish a high versatile technology to be used as injectable materials and implant coatings for periodontal and peri-implant infection treatments. The proposed approach will be validated in two clinically relevant animal models: dental implant and permanent transcutaneous bone. BIOACTION, would radically advance the future of infection treatment by revolutionizing the classical approaches leading to the improvement of state of care, health outcomes and to achieve huge socio-economic benefits. The project is strongly interdisciplinary in nature involving expertise biomaterials, synthetic biology, phage and liposome technology, medicine.
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Website: http://biorobot-miniheart.eu/
Coordinator: University of Twente (NL)
Project partners: 4
Key-words: tissue engineering, biosensing, stem cells, cardiovascular diseases, physiology
Description: Manufacturing our very own hearts is just a heartbeat away, literally. Engineers are joining forces with biologists to make biological heart robots. The EU-funded BioRobot-MiniHeart project is developing a vascularised beating mini-heart. In parallel, the team is designing a self-propulsion swimming bio-robot created by assembling human cardiac cells into 3D tissue structures; using sacrificial moulding and high-resolution 3D bioprinting.
The mini-heart and the bio-robot will provide scientists with a more realistic human cardiac model in vitro and an appropriate tool to assess cardiotoxicants’ presence in the environment. We expect this innovation to help speed up the development of heart disease cures.
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Website: https://www.fungateria.eu/
Coordinator: Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation (DK)
Project partners: 6
Key-words: bacteriology, synthetic biology, mycology
Description: Engineered living materials (ELMs) are composed of living cells endowed with unique properties and functions. ELMs have received significant attention in materials sciences due to their tuneability and potential for sustainable production. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the Fungateria project aims to generate an innovative portfolio of ELMs that combine fungi with bacteria.
Growing the vegetative part of the mushroom—the mycelium—on different organic substrates is the most common way of producing fungi-based materials. The project will combine the mycelium with bacteria that serve as a chassis for sensor-containing genetic circuits. The resultant ELMs will exhibit advanced functionalities and inducible degradation when no longer needed.
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Website: https://isos-project.eu/en/about
Coordinator: Silk Biomed S.L. (ES)
Project partners: 6
Key-words: GEB, ELM, silk fibroin, micro bioreactor, chronic diseases, AMD
Description: ISOS is pioneering the development of a groundbreaking biomedical treatment: an implantable micro-bioreactor, made by genetically engineered probiotic bacteria (GEB) integrated into biomaterials.
ISOS GEB are designed to survive within the pathological environment and synthesize the therapeutic molecules in response to specific patient-specific signals such as inflammation or reactive oxygen species.
This innovative treatment aims at replacing the repetitive lifespan injections or other treatments required for chronic diseases, by a single micro-injection, eliminating pain, burden, and costs for the patient.
As a Proof-of-Concept, ISOS is engineering specific bacteria to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD).
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Website: https://www.loop-of-fun.eu
Coordinator: Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg (DE)
Project partners: 5
Key-words: Mycology, electrical engineering, sensors
Project Description: Fungi comprise approximately 100 000 described species to date. The real total is estimated to be in the millions. They are amazing factories, producing numerous bioactive metabolites of therapeutic interest. The EU-funded LoopOfFun project has recognised their potential in yet another innovative area – as part of engineered living materials (ELMs), with open- and closed-loop control of mechanical and structural properties. The project will identify fungi gifted with superior abilities for materials synthesis and harness them for synthetic biology-based programming. The programming will be accomplished via a novel automatic robotised platform to develop the fungi into ELMs based on iterative design-build-test-learn cycles. The outcomes will then support the rational design of such materials.
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Website: https://www.nextskins.eu/
Coordinator: Delft University of Technology (NL)
Project partners: 3
Key-words: bacteriology, dermatology, biomolecules, ceramics
Description: Compared to conventional materials, biomaterials in living organisms possess specific architecture and organisation: and often exhibit multiple functions. Εngineered living materials (ELMs) have emerged at the junction of synthetic biology and material science to produce materials with improved functionality because of the living organisms within them.
Funded by the European Innovation Council, the NextSkins project is inspired by the structure and function of the many layers of skin. Researchers will mimic the specialised skin arrangement to make two engineered living materials: one with a therapeutic role to treat skin diseases and one with a purpose to be used as a protective garment in sports.
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Website: https://prism-livingtissues.eu/
Coordinator: IN society (IT)
Key-words: bacteriology, stem cells, bioprinting,
Project Partners: 6
Project Description: The EU-funded PRISM-LT project will use a hybrid living materials concept to create a flexible platform for living tissue manufacturing. The innovative bio-ink will contain stem cells integrated into a supporting matrix with engineered helper bacteria or yeast cells. The bioprinting process will produce a 3D patterned structure where stem cells could be induced to differentiate into different lineages. The directed stimulation of differentiating stem cells will force them to produce lineage-specific metabolites for sensing by the designer helper cells. The helper cells within the platform will then enhance localised lineage commitment to sustain differentiation stability. The project aims to implement this strategy for the development of two symbiotic materials designed for biomedical and food applications, respectively.
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Website: https://eic-remedy.eu/
Coordinator: InnoRenew CoE (SI)
Project partners: 6
Key words: microbiology, architecture, biofabrication, microbiome
Project Objectives: The REMEDY project pioneers the archibiome tattoo - a living, bespoke layer for buildings that enhances both, aesthetics and functionality. By integrating advances in microbiology, synthetic biology, and materials science, REMEDY develops engineered living materials and specialized biofabrication process for personalized architectural design. At the core of REMEDY’s approach are tailored microbial consortia formulated into innovative microbial inks that function like probiotic skincare. These living consortia establish a resilient microbiome on building surfaces, providing pathogen protection, supporting carbon sequestration, producing oxygen, and enabling bioremediation. Funded by the European Innovation Council, REMEDY brings metabolic thinking into sustainable design, advances probiotic architecture, and drives a microbial revolution to reshape the perception of microorganisms in the built environment.
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Website: https://supervised-morphogenesis.eu/
Coordinator: Oslo University Hospital (NO)
Project partners: 7
Key words: artificial intelligence, developmental biology, stem cells, physiology
Project Objectives: The lack of realistic in vitro organ models that faithfully represent in vivo physiological processes is a major obstacle affecting the biological and medical sciences. The current gold standard is animal experimentation, but it is increasingly evident that these models mostly fail to recapitulate human physiology. Moreover, animal experiments are controversial, and it is a common goal in the scientific community to minimise the use of animals to a strictly necessary minimum.
The emergence of stem cell-engineered organ models called organoids represents the only viable alternative to animal research. However, current organoid technology is yet to produce the larger physiologically relevant organ models that the medical sciences need. Specifically, current organoids are too small, not vascularised and lack the 3-dimensional organisation found in vivo.
In this interdisciplinary project, we aim to challenge all these limitations using the recently developed gastruloid technology guided by cutting-edge bioengineering and artificial intelligence.
Gastruloids are formed by initiating the very early developmental processes and develop along a highly coordinated three-axial process that closely resembles mammalian embryogenesis. They can establish several organ precursors simultaneously, thus constituting relevant improvements over conventional single-tissue organoids.
To harvest the potential of gastruloid technology, we will first implement extensive sequencing and imaging experiments to optimise the developmental trajectory of gastruloids for organ inductions. We will then build these datasets into a multimodal data matrix to identify gastruloid candidates for cardiovascular and foregut development. Candidates with substantial vasculogenesis will be chosen for later vascularisation by anastomose with endothelial cells.”
Projects Within the Engineered Living Materials portfolio
EIC Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) pitch playlist
The 10 EIC Pathfinder projects composing the Engineered living materials (ELMs) portfolio present themselves in these short pitch videos. To learn more about the activities and outputs of the EIC ELMs Portfolio please go to https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-portfolios/health_en#engineered-living-materials-elms.
EIC ELMs portfolio gives feedback on the European Advanced Materials Act
13th January 2026
The Advanced Materials Act will put forward measures to achieve open strategic autonomy on advanced materials, which provide the innovative solutions needed for a more efficient, sustainable and competitive industry. This will help reduce dependencies on critical resources and boost EU competitiveness.
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Input from EIC Engineered Living Materials (ELM) Portfolio Projects: REMEDY, Bio-HhOST, BIOACTION, Fungateria, LoopOfFun, SUMO The EIC Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) portfolio comprises 10 collaborative projects, bringing together a broad network of partners across Europe, including leading universities, research institutes, and SMEs, and collectively covering the comprehensive European research and innovation landscape in the ELMs field.
ELMs represent a rapidly emerging class of advanced materials with transformative potential across various sectors, including health, manufacturing, energy, construction, and the environment, thanks to their distinctive properties such as sensing, responsiveness, adaptability, and self-repair.
By incorporating living cells, ELMs represent a fundamental change in how materials are produced and the functions they can perform, with the potential to decrease costs and environmental impact. To fully unlock this potential, specific actions are essential to reinforce Europes research and innovation ecosystem, industrial scale-up pathways, investment framework, and regulatory preparedness.
The EIC ELM portfolio strongly supports the objectives of the proposed Advanced Materials Act and welcomes the Commissions ambition to accelerate the development, production, and uptake of advanced materials across the EU. The EIC Engineered Living Materials portfolio recommends that the Act:
Supports full-cycle innovation from research to market
Reinforces shared infrastructures and interdisciplinary knowledge and skills Establishes dedicated early-stage investment mechanisms
Stimulates industrial uptake through procurement and standards
Embeds environmental sustainability across value chains
Accelerates time to market through regulatory sandboxes and guidance
Strengthens monitoring of emerging advanced materials technologies with a rapid response mechanism to emerging social needs.
Translates into the specific needs of European healthcare systems, where the industrial healthcare sector must respond.
With these measures, Europe can significantly reduce time to market, reinforce open strategic autonomy, and lead globally in next-generation advanced materials. More detailed feedback supported with key recommendations is provided in the attached document.
Activity report for the 3rd year of the portfolio
January 6th 2026
The third year of the EIC Pathfinder Engineered Living Materials Portfolio, as reported on the EU Publications office, saw a range of new activities across multiple working groups.
For example, the portfolio published the EMA Horizon Scanning Report on ELMs for therapeutic production following collaborative workshops, completion of stakeholder interviews analyzing market barriers for biotechnology products, and expansion of the technology exchange platform to 78 researchers.
Looking ahead to 2026, the portfolio will host an international summer school on ethical and societal aspects of ELMs, conduct a regulatory workshop on GMO frameworks, and convene the fourth Annual Meeting in Copenhagen while continuing engagement with the EU Technology Council for Advanced Materials.
EMA Horizon Scanning Report on ELMs in collaboration with EIC
22nd September 2025
Engineered living materials (ELMs) was identified as a relevant topic based on literature screening, the result of a survey conducted among stakeholders and interactions with scientific groups of EMA, the EMRN and the European Innovation Council (EIC).
This horizon scanning report describes current state of art and emerging trends of ELMs development and explores challenges and opportunities related to their ability to deliver, produce and release therapeutic substances within the body to treat the designated area.
Update: ELM Portfolio Publish Summary of 2024 Activities.
Bio-HhOST participates in EIC-EMA Workshop on the regulatory framework for Engineered Living Materials.
On February 6, 2025, Bio-HhOST took part in EIC-EMA Workshop on the Regulatory Framework of Engineered Living Materials (ELMs).
EIC ELMs Portfolio—PRISM-LT, -LoopOfFun-ELMs, NextSkins, Bio-HhOST, BioRobot-MiniHeart, ISOS Project EU, Bioaction EU, REMEDY —participate in the EIC-EMA Workshop on the Regulatory Framework of Engineered Living Materials (ELMs). Bio-HhOST were joined by other EIC ELMs Portfolio members; PRISM-LT, LoopOfFun-ELMs, NextSkins, BioRobot-MiniHeart, ISOS Project EU, Bioaction EU, and REMEDY.
Organised by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), this workshop brought together researchers, industry, policymakers and regulatory bodies to discuss the regulatory pathway and challenges for the emerging area of ELMs, which have significant transformative potential across fields of health, biotech, agri-tech, environment and advanced materials. Members of Bio-HhOST and several other EIC-funded projects were able to contribute to the meeting, presenting their research and contributing to vibrant exchanges exploring the future regulatory pathway for ELMs which are innovative materials set to transform medicine and biotechnology, marking a critical milestone for ELMs in Europe.
The meeting also featured keynotes from Barbara Gerratana (EIC), Orsolya Symmons (EIC), and @Costantinos Ziogas (EMA), the event ignited insightful discussions. The panel, co-moderated by Falk Ehmann (EMA) and Laura Martinelli (PRISM-LT, INsociety), delved into essential topics like:
ELM product classification and approval pathways
Safety and compliance requirements
Clinical trials for bioprinted and engineered tissues
EMA’s guidance on ATMPs
This interactive session encouraged a plethora of questions and underscored the imperative for ongoing regulatory dialogue as ELM technologies continue to evolve. The workshop provided valuable insights into the changing regulatory landscape, highlighting the necessity for continuous collaboration among innovators, regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders.
Engineered Living Materials Portfolio year 2 progress report (2024) and year 3 plans (2025)
Discover the progress made by the EIC ELMs Portfolio in advancing living materials technology and shaping Europe’s leadership in this field. This report highlights key achievements since the 2023 strategic plan and outlines the objectives for the third year of the Portfolio
ELMs Portfolio Second Annual Meeting
The EIC ELMs portfolio held its second annual meeting on September 18 in Saarbrücken, Germany. There were 140 attendees, including 33 representatives of the EIC ELMs portfolio projects BioRobot-MiniHeart, Bio-HhOST, Fungateria, NextSkins, LoopOfFun and Sumo, and participants of the 4th International Conference on Engineered Living Materials including recent awardees of the Programme Priority in ELMs of the German Research Foundation. Participants to the 4th International Conference on ELMs could attend for free the EIC ELMs Symposium. The EIC ELMs symposium was opened and closed by inspiring talks from Jamie Davies, Univ of Edinburgh from the EIC Pathfinder Open project CyGenTiG, and from Chao Zhong, Shenzhen Institute.
It was a day of exciting science, opportunities to launch collaborations and a unique occasion to showcase the EIC ELMs portfolio projects to the ELMs community. It was also a great way to introduce the new EIC biotech Programme Manager, Dr. Orsolya Symmons, to the EIC ELMs projects and the ELMs community at large.
Several members of the EIC ELMs Portfolio including EISMEA representative attended the 4th International Conference on Engineered Living Materials. The EIC had a stand at the conference that was used to showcases material and microfluidics samples from LoopOfFun, Fungateria, NextSkins and Bio-HhOST projects. A table also displayed the video on the EIC ELMs portfolio and that of the Fungateria project, in addition paper copies of the brochure on the EIC ELMs portfolio were distributed to attendees.
The main organizer of the EIC ELMs Symposium (i.e. 2nd EIC ELMs Annual Meeting) was LoopOfFun (the group of Wilfried Weber) with the support of NextSkins (Prof. Marie-Eve Aubin Tam) for the keynote speakers.
