Australian researchers grow fungi in sheets for bio-based materials

In Australia, RMIT scientists have shown it’s possible to grow fungi in thin sheets that could be used for fire-retardant cladding or even a new kind of fungal fashion.

The novel method of creating mycelium sheets that are paper-thin, like wallpaper, works without pulverising the mycelium’s filament network. Instead, they used different growth conditions and chemicals to make the thin, uniform and – importantly – fire-resistant material. The researchers are focused on creating bio-derived, fire-retardant cladding for buildings to prevent tragedies like the Grenfell Tower fire, in which the deadly blaze was accelerated by a highly combustible cladding component.