Development of a Bio-Hybrid Insulation Material - Connection by Growth and Interlinking

The project presented here investigates the extent to which fungal mycelium can be used to replace conventional fossil or mineral binders in building materials. Both biological raw materials and residual materials were used as structural building materials and bonded together by mycelial growth. The material to be developed should be applicable as building insulating material. In tentative preliminary tests, different material combinations of nutrient, fungus and building structure material were examined for their potential. Based on these findings, larger prototypes measuring 25 × 25 × 3 cm3 were then manufactured. Their material properties were subsequently determined in the laboratory. It was found that the manufactured prototypes consistently exhibited very low diffusion resistance. The resulting thermal conductivity lies within ranges from 0.049 to 0.068 W/(mK), depending on the type of fungus, the substrate and the aggregates. This is rather high compared to conventional insulation materials. However, the experiments show the potential of myco-composites as substitute for mineral oil based products.