Biofabricated Materials

Ecovative uses mycelium as a binder for regionally sourced non-food agricultural waste to make a bio-based alternative to plastic foam packaging and insulation materials. MycoComposite is biodegradable, naturally flame resistant, and water resistant. Ecovative licenses this material to various partners such as Mushroom Packaging, Magic Mushrooms, Grown.bio, Bio Fab, and Grow.bio to create packaging, insulation, furniture pieces and kits.

bioMASON grows tiles using technology similar to hydroponics - units mixed with microorganism are fed an aqueous solution to harden the tiles to specification. bioMASON’s process eliminates the need for firing by replacing the curing/hardening process with biologically controlled structural cement.

Reishi™ is a leather grown through a proprietary Fine Mycelium™ process. This leather is grown rapidly from engineered mycelium and agricultural by-products and is strong, flexible, and durable, just like conventional leathers. It is also water-resistant and uses chrome-free tanning and dyeing processes. Reishi™ can be embedded with a cotton or recycled polyester fabric (where the mycelium binds to the backing) or be grown as 100% mycelium depending on the application. Mycoworks uses fungi indigenous to their manufacturing locations.

Bolt Threads' Engineered Silk is biofabricated by mimicking the DNA in Spider Silk. They develop proteins inspired by the DNA (no spiders are actually involved) and put them inside of yeast.

The yeast produce silk protein in a liquid form during fermentation—very much like the beer-making process. After some processing, the liquid silk protein can be turned into fiber through wet-spinning, which is the same way fibers like acrylic and rayon are made.

BioConcrete is a self-healing concrete product made of biodegradable plastic capsules of calcium lactate and bacteria added to a wet concrete mix. When activated by water, the capsules expand and fill any cracks that exist in the concrete.

BioMineralized Concrete uses bacteria to bind a sand aggregate. The technology allows for the sand, or any other small, rough aggregate, to be used to make a solid material. Because it hardens at room temperature, it saves the energy that typically goes into baking bricks. BioMineralized Concrete can be used as a concrete substitute. However, it has 2/3 the strength of traditional concrete, so it needs to be reinforced by adding fiber or metal, or through pressurization during casting.

GrowSquares operates under a simple philosophy: don’t put anything in your garden you wouldn’t put in your body. This ethos resonates throughout their products and ensures every item they deliver is made up entirely of 100% organic materials, all specifically designed to improve the growth of their plants. Simply place your squares on your selected location and follow the app’s personalized instructions as it guides you through the gardening process.

The mushroom-based scaffold is not only engineered to decompose, but it's biodegradation enriches both plants and soil by stimulating the development of microorganisms and improving soil moisture retention. The more you use GrowSquares, the better your soil becomes, as it allows for a greater variety of plants with each use.