Background: To evaluate the usability of mycelium-based materials for construction, first tests were carried out to determine their suitability for thermal insulation. Different substrate compositions were tested for various physical properties. The compositions and experimental setups used are described in the “Methods” section.
Results: Materials based on fungal mycelium were found to have promising properties for use in the construction sector. Their thermal conductivities are comparable to those of commercially available ecological insulation materials. As material properties turned out to be dependent on the substrate used for the production of mycelium materials, further optimisation is required.
Conclusion: For first preliminary tests [1] to study the performance of mycelium-based materials, different additives (beech wood, rice husks, coffee silver skin, perlite rock) were added to a base substrate to determine their influence on physical properties. Compared to the characteristics of conventional thermal insulation materials, the test results obtained are rather promising and confirm suitability of mycelium-based materials for building. However, further systematic studies are needed to investigate options to improve major properties and to ensure reproducibility of mycelium materials with largely homogeneous properties.