Renewable and Biodegradable Insulation and Packaging Materials
Ecovative Design LLC
60 Cohoes Avenue
Green Island, NY 12183
Telephone: (518) 273-3753
http:// www.ecovativedesign.com
Environmental Problem
The shift in recent decades from limited natural re-
sources to synthetic materials has opened many
doors for innovative technologies and products that
help with conservation efforts, including those being
made in the insulation, packaging and structural core
markets. Many of these products, however, present
.environmental challenges because of their petroleum
base. They depend on foreign resources, are not
biodegradable or otherwise recyclable, and have
high transportation costs. Structural insulating panels
and other components in the rigid board insulation
industry are made using petrol-foams, such as ex-
panded polystyrene and expanded polyurethane.
The release of volatile chemicals (off-gassing) from
hydrocarbon-based materials also poses health
concerns.
SBIR Technology Solution
With support from EPA's Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program, Ecovative Design LLC
(Ecovative) has developed two materials:
MycoBond™, a basic material to replace hydrocar-
bon-derived synthetics in packaging, insulation and
structural cores, and Greensulate™, an insulating
application of MycoBond™. Both materials use a
technology that begins with growing the common
white rot fungus on low-value agricultural byprod-
ucts, which are notoriously difficult to degrade or
otherwise remove from farms in an energy-efficient
manner. Use of these agricultural byproducts to
grow the fungus offers the added environmental
benefit of creating a solution to regional agricultural
waste disposal.
The fungus' vegetative mycelium, a tangled web
made up of thousands of root-like strands that hold
the hulls together, self-assembles into a prefabri-
cated shape and creates a biocomposite that is at
least as strong as conventional technologies. Growth
occurs at room temperature and pressure, in the
dark, for 5-7 days, requiring 10 times less energy
and emitting 5 times less CO2 than petroleum-de-
rived equivalents. At the end of growth, the material
is heated to kill the fungus and any resultant spores.
MycoBondrM's primary composition of vegetative
cells ensures easy biodegradability that conventional
technologies cannot offer. Also, Ecovative's material
does not off-gas like materials made with hydrocar-
bon-based synthetics.
The Mycobond™ technology can use rice and cot-
tonseed hulls or other regional agricultural wastes,
which are traditionally low-valued waste streams, as
its primary building material. The growth of the
Mycobond™ material acts as a secondary revenue
stream for rural economies, can be produced and
shipped regionally and thus limit emissions
associated with feedstock transport, and offers an
environmentally friendly use for previously
unwanted agricultural waste.
Greensulate™ insulation, which applies the
Mycobond™ technology to the building industry,
now qualifies for a number of Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) credits, which
potentially can increase the value of real estate
insulated with this technology. Ecovative also has
complied with the American Standards for Testing
and Materials (ASTM) for thermal performance,
structural integrity, biodegradability, and moisture
properties for the Greensulate™ material.
Greensulate™ insulation is available for demonstra-
tion projects, with examples in Troy, New York, and
South Royalton, Vermont. It could potentially retail
for one-half the cost of petrol-foams, reducing the
customer's initial capital building expense.
Commercialization Information
Ecovative adapted the MycoBond™ fungal-based
technology to produce EcoCradle™, a packaging
material that was the first Ecovative product
to enter the consumer market. Additional
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SBIR Success Stories

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MycoBond™ applications, including office	ing markets, offering an environmentally friendly
furniture, lightweight vehicle panels, wind	option to consumers and industries alike,
turbine blades, and boat and surfboard cores,
currently are in development for future
com m erci al izati on.
Ecovative has caught the eye of Fortune 500
and other large companies working in a
myriad of industries. For example, Steelcase
Inc. and Dell Inc. are using the EcoCradle™
material for product shipping. In addition,
Evocative is developing a product for the
automotive sector with a concentration on
replacing synthetic foams that dissipate energy
(e.g., door panels and bumpers) and acoustic
tiles (sound attenuation).
Company History and Awards
Ecovative Design, a materials science com-
pany based in Green Island, New York, was
founded in 2007 with a "triple bottom line"
business model: make products that are envi-
ronmentally good for the planet, benefit the
people who use them, and produce products
that are financially sustainable. The company
has received multiple grants, including the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Grant, National Collegiate Inventors and
Innovators Alliance Grant, and New York State
Research and Development Authority Grant.
Ecovative was named a 2011 Technology
Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in
recognition of the company's efforts to har-
ness, adapt and use technology to change
and improve the way businesses operate. With
gaining interest in the company by eco-friendly
consumers and Fortune 500 companies,
Ecovative is emerging as a strong force in the
packaging, construction materials, and insulat-
SBIR Success Stories
SBIR Impact
Conventional petroleum-based building insulation, packaging and
construction materials are inherently unsustainable, dependent on foreign
resources, and ultimately environmentally unfriendly
Ecovative developed the MycoBond™ technology and adapted it to make
Greensulate™ and EcoCradle™ materials that offer eco-friendly options for
the building insulation and packaging industries, respectively
MycoBond™ manufacture emits 5 times less CO2 and uses 10 times less
energy than conventional expanding polystyrene technologies. MycoBond™"
makes use of regional agricultural waste streams, is biodegradable, and
qualifies for LEED credits if used to insulate buildings.
Fortune 500 and other large companies are using Ecovative products
for their packaging needs, and plans are under way with other large
companies to use MycoBond™ products for
insulation and structural applications.

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