Montigny-le-Bretonneux, 19 October 2026
Developed by ADETESTS, an Emitech Group subsidiary based in Saint-Chamond, this new service assesses the resistance of equipment and its constituent materials to mould contamination in accordance with RTCA DO-160 Section 13 and MIL-STD-810 Method 508.
Many electronic, mechanical and composite systems operate in warm, humid environments conducive to mould growth, including passenger compartments, cargo holds, containers and tropical regions. These systems are therefore exposed to a risk of fungal contamination. This risk, addressed by aviation and military standards RTCA DO-160 and MIL-STD-810, is particularly relevant to the aerospace, defence, naval and automotive sectors. Yet the fungi responsible are also present in our everyday surroundings, including cereals, wheat, soil, wood, fruit and vegetables.
FUNGUS testing aims to determine three things: whether materials, individually or in combination, support fungal growth under favourable conditions such as high humidity, warm temperatures and the presence of inorganic salts; how quickly that growth occurs; and how fungal growth may affect equipment operation and safety. Five strains are used for testing to RTCA DO-160 Section 13 (Aspergillus brasiliensis, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus amoenus, Penicillium funiculosum and Chaetomium globosum), with a similar set of five strains used for testing to MIL-STD-810 Method 508 (Aspergillus brasiliensis, Aspergillus flavus, Trichoderma virens, Talaromyces pinophilus and Chaetomium globosum).
“We recreate optimal conditions for fungal growth in a climatic chamber — relative humidity above 95%, a temperature of around 30°C and the presence of inorganic salts — to reveal in a matter of weeks weaknesses that would otherwise take months or even years of real-world exposure to emerge,” explains Mickaël De Oliveira, Climatic Laboratory Manager at ADETESTS, an Emitech Group subsidiary.
A dedicated laboratory with capacity for several tests in parallel
ADETESTS has equipped its laboratory with dedicated facilities for this activity: a freezer for strain storage at −80°C, an incubator at 25°C, a dedicated climatic chamber operating at 30°C with relative humidity above 95% and still air, a microbiological safety cabinet, and observation equipment — a microscope and a stereomicroscope — to identify the species that develop. All testing is carried out at ADETESTS’ premises in Saint-Chamond, in France’s Loire department.
The new service will be available for all new projects from November 2026. Once the laboratory commissioning phase is complete and full capacity has been reached, Emitech Group will be able to handle several projects in parallel.
Expanding the Group’s climatic and physicochemical testing capabilities
With this new service, Emitech Group strengthens its ability to support customers throughout the environmental qualification of their equipment, from resistance to fluids and corrosion through to resistance to biological contamination. Customers benefit from a single point of contact, with no subcontracting outside the Group.
Emitech Group employs 680 people across 18 sites and forecasts revenue of €78.1 million in 2026. This new service further demonstrates its ability to support customers with the most demanding environmental robustness qualification requirements.
For further information, please contact ADETESTS at adetests@emitech-group.com or on +33 (0)4 77 81 55 00.
Fungal contamination testing facilities
Photo credit: Emitech Group
