Mycelium-based leather
Leather and synthetic-leather production have a large negative environmental impact due to resource-intensive processes and hazardous chemicals used during production. One alternative is fungal mycelium, a bio-based raw material that can be sustainably processed into leather-like materials. Until now, however, increasing the production volume with current methods has been challenging due to mycelium cultivation taking place in a planar two-dimensional form that is limited in size.
Now, a team of researchers from VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd (Espoo, Finland; www.vttresearch.com) has demonstrated that its technology enables the continuous manufacturing of mycelium leather sheets by the meter. The approach is applicable to industrial roll-to-roll production.
VTT’s patent-pending technology for producing mycelium leather-alternative materials is based on growing mycelium in common bioreactors. The benefits of this approach are that liquid fermentation in bioreactors is easily scalable to commercial scales. VTT’s film-making process enables continuous mycelium leather-alternative production using VTT’s pilot equipment. The benefits of this manufacturing method are consistent quality, competitive production price and reduced amounts of offcuts.
“The material has a leathery look and feel and can be as strong as animal leather. It also offers the possibility to be colored and patterned, and it does not contain any backing or supporting materials,” says senior scientist Géza Szilvay.
The researchers are now working to improve tear strength and abrasion resistance by bio-based approaches. The first product applications for the material could be accessories, footwear and garments.