Research

Project Area A – (Bio-)technology of manufacturing and processing develops a fundamental understanding of fungal growth on plant substrates, develops innovative bioreactor systems and additive manufacturing concepts for the reproducible production of fungal-based materials, and elucidates substrate parameters that determine the properties of fungal-based materials. The aim is to produce fungal-based materials in a controlled, standardised, and reproducible manner.

Project Area B – Multiscale characterisation and modification focusses on the investigation and prediction of the properties of fungal-based materials using experimental and model-based approaches. The aim is to describe and predict the behaviour of fungal-based materials on multiscale level and to extend their property profiles through (nano)functionalisation.

Project Area C – Building material characterisation and architectural design analyses and modifies fungal-based materials from a building materials engineering perspective. Hybrid materials will be produced and investigated by combining fungal materials with inorganic and organic materials from the building industry, with the aim of developing new sustainable architectural and building applications.

The vision of the Collaborative Research Centre MY-CO BUILD is to develop a new class of biologically produced and biodegradable fungal-based materials from renewable and residual agricultural and forestry resources through pioneering research. The potential of fungal biotechnology will be used to understand and develop these materials, and to establish the scientific basis for defined production processes and reproducible properties of fungal-based materials. This includes systematically establishing a process chain that considers all biological and technological aspects of the manufacturing process from the nano- to the macroscale, thus allowing conclusions for targeted material design.

For the first time, MY-CO BUILD will bring together different disciplines in an inter- and transdisciplinary network to investigate the biological, mechanical, physical, chemical, thermal, acoustic, and architectural properties of fungal-based materials. Our proposed network will enable unprecedented fundamental and applied breakthroughs with immediate, real-world impacts: precise control of the genetic make-up of the fungal production organism, detailed understanding of optimal agricultural and forestry substrates, and stream-lined manufacturing and processing methods. To describe, understand, and predict multiscale interactions, mathematical models accompanied by numerical simulations will be developed to enable tailoring of material properties.

In addition to this fundamental understanding of the relationships between the hierarchical structural elements and the material properties, stability, ageing, and biodegradability testing will be carried out during the development of these materials, including whole life-cycle analyses and sustainability assessments. With the processes and methods developed here, MY-CO BUILD aims to break new inter- and transdisciplinary ground for the development and establishment of sustainable biomaterials that are not possible yet with current approaches.