Biology Professor Steve Horton likens this mostly underground portion of fungi (the mushrooms that pop up are the reproductive structures) to a tiny biological chain of tubular cells. “It’s this linked chain of cells that’s able to communicate with the outside world, to sense what’s there in terms of food and light and moisture,” he said. “Mycelia take in nutrients from available materials like wood and use them as food, and the fungus is able to grow as a result.” “When you think of fungi and their mycelia, their function—ecologically—is really vital in degrading and breaking things down,” Horton added. “Without fungi, and bacteria, we’d be I don’t know how many meters deep in waste, both plant matter and animal tissue.” Looking something like extremely delicate, white dental floss, mycelia grow in, through and around just about any organic substrate. Whether it’s leaves or mulch, mycelia digest these natural materials and bind everything together in a cohesive mat. And these mats can be grown in molds, molds that might make a shoe sole or packing carton. Ecovative Design, in Green Island, N.Y., is the only company harnessing this particular mycological power right now. And it has Horton, and another Union researcher, Ronald Bucinell, to help it do so.
Ecovative basics Founded by Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer the same year they graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Ecovative has been in business since 2007. The company uses
several species of fungi, which differ markedly from those sold in grocery stores, to manufacture environmentally-friendly products. “Most of our partnerships are secret, but we just partnered with the Sealed Air Corporation (the inventors of bubble wrap) to expand distribution of our protective packaging products,” said McIntyre, who is chief scientist. “These are already used by the likes of Dell and Crate & Barrel, and we’re also in the early stages of designing a compostable shoe with one of the world’s leading sports apparel manufacturers. We have development projects in everything from floral foams (think flower arrangements) to automotive components too.” Making these items is relatively straightforward, at least in some respects, because the fungi do most of the work. The process starts with farming byproducts, like cotton gin waste; seed hulls from rice, buckwheat and oats; hemp or other plant materials. These are sterilized, mixed with nutrients and chilled, Ecovative’s Director of First Impressions Kristen Renaud explained. Then the mycelia spawn are added and the whole amalgam is put in a large container. Dozens of such containers are held in vertical racks as the mycelia grow, quickly turning the entire package a milky white as the fungus permeates every available cranny of space and substrate. The mycelia are so good at proliferating, in fact, McIntyre said, that every cubic inch of material contains eight miles of the tiny fungal fibers. Next, this lengthy—but compact—matrix is removed
“Our all-natural products, the creation of which takes less than five days, have no allergy concerns and are completely non-toxic. They could be eaten, though they’re obviously not meant for consumption.” –Kristen Renaud from the container and placed in a mold the shape of whatever item Ecovative is making. Once the desired texture, rigidity and other characteristics of the product are achieved, it’s popped from its mold and heated and dried to kill the mycelia and stop its growth. Drying also eliminates any potential allergens that may be present. “Our all-natural products, the creation of which takes less than five days, have no allergy concerns and are completely non-toxic. They could be eaten, though they’re obviously not meant for consumption,” Renaud said, laughing, “and they wouldn’t taste very good.” More impressive is the fact that they’re also impervious to fire (to a point), and as water resistant as Styrofoam, but they won’t sit around taking up space in a landfill. “Our materials are all Class I fire walls, because the fungal cell wall is very robust and water insoluble, and the rice hulls and
Ecovative’s wine shipper (Courtesy of Ecovative Design)
other waste we use have naturally high silica content,” McIntyre said. “This means they can be hit with a blow torch and not burn.” Winter 2013 UNION COLLEGE
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