Ecovative is an Albany-based company that manufactures products from agricultural waste and mycelium, a mushroom that acts like a natural glue. The mycelium digest the agricultural products and grow around them to form rigid shapes. Today most of Ecovative’s business comes from packaging products – they’re as light as Styrofoam and cost about the same, yet they’re natural and biodegradable and thus much easier on the planet. But the company has its sights on another mycelium product that could rock the building industry: insulation.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ecovative engineer Sam Harrington at Yestermorrow Design/Build School two years ago. He brought a prototype house on wheels built with their mushroom insulation. It has an R-value comparable to dense-packed cellulose. Best of all, it’s a living organism, and regrows itself to fill every space in the wall cavity. I’m excited to see where this product goes.

Click here to learn more about Ecovative.

Mushroom House at Yestermorrow. (picture from ecovativedesign.com)