Flexible Product Offerings

Plastic foams are made from finite and often-harmful petrochemicals, don’t biodegrade, and contribute to growing waste in landfills and our environment. As more cities recognize the hazards of many traditional materials, there is a gap on the supply side for alternatives to foam packaging, insulation, and other synthetics. These alternatives need to be not only environmentally friendly, but high-performing and cost-competitive as well. Ecovative’s biomaterial platform technology resolves critical concerns for waste, energy, and consumer health by working with nature to grow an alternative. The innovative materials science company uses local agricultural waste as feedstock to grow fungal mycelia that can be formed into a host of byproducts, from packaging materials to building insulation and car components.

Design & Implementation

Last update: October 05, 2023

Challenge

waste, energy, and consumer health

Description

Founders Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre developed the core ideas underpinning their products and production methods while studying at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where teacher and mentor Burt Swersey challenged his students to develop marketable, innovative and profitable products that could at the same time improve the world. Since then Ecovative has grown measurably. In 2015 Ecovative opened a full-scale 20,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Troy, NY for production of Mushroom Packaging.

SDGs

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