Fungi To Keep You Warm, and Green

While most people are trying to get fungus out of the house, researchers in upstate New York are trying to bring it back in.

Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre—just one year beyond their days as undergraduates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—are co-founders of Ecovative Design, a Troy, New York-based company focused on green technology. The duo were in NYC this past Saturday talking about Greensulate, their company's biodegradable, lightweight insulate made out of mushrooms, which they hope will replace less enviro-friendly insulation, such as the pink colored fiberglass that is currently stuffed into your home’s walls. Sound like just another run of the mill “organic” product? Maybe. But the process used to create the stuff is unlike any other insulator—it’s all organic, completely uninhibited by petroleum, and can be grown anywhere dark--even in your bedroom.

To make: combine recycled paper, the mineral particle perlite, water, fungus, and hydrogen peroxide in 7-by-7-inch molds; then, sequester containers away in the dark (the scientists grew at least one batch under their beds). The mushrooms grow by “eating” the sugar in the recycled paper, while the hydrogen peroxide prevents any substance other than the fungi from surviving. As the fungi digest the available starches, they will sprout thousands of root-like strands, called mycelium, which intertwine amongst the perlite, forming a thick, whitish mass; insulating air pockets form between the mineral particles. The thickening volume of the mass of cells is reminiscent of a cake rising, with the fungal mass taking the shape of its container. To finish the prodcut, apply low-heat, no more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit. This blow-dry hardens the product as well as kills off any biological entity, so the insulation won’t grow in your walls.

Ecovative’s website reports that their product should not cause allergies, because the fungi bodies don’t release spores. The product is also flame retardant, withstanding temperatures of up to 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit. The challenge, now, for the greenovators is showing that their design won’t melt away if it becomes supersaturated. They will spend 2008 perfecting and testing the material, hoping to have it approved as a sustainable building entity by early 2010. Before then, there are plans to release a Greensulate-based cooler. Personally, nothing says summer like beer and fungus.