From Forest to Lab: A Collaboration with ULiège on Climate Innovation

BXVentures is proud to collaborate with the University of Liège and its Smart Gastronomy Lab to support the creation of ventures at the intersection of sustainability and deep tech.

One example of this collaboration is Living Forest—a university spin-off we co-developed. Living Forest is a company with two dimensions: it produces kombucha using ingredients sourced from Belgian forests, sold as a premium non-alcoholic drink now featured in several Michelin-starred restaurants. At the same time, the startup is exploring how to repurpose the kombucha fermentation byproduct, SCOBY, for water filtration. Early tests show strong potential for removing microplastics and heavy metals.

Water filtration is one of the most pressing depollution challenges for the coming years. The urgency is growing, as highlighted by recent scandals involving PFAS contamination and widespread microplastics. Yet today’s filtration systems fall short—either they pollute in turn, are prohibitively expensive, or lack the efficiency needed to fully tackle the issue.

With Living Forest, we’re investing in a solution that is circular, bio-based, and potentially scalable. This is the type of innovation we aim to support: rooted in science, responsive to real-world challenges, and built for impact. We look forward to advancing more ventures like this with ULiège.

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