Ecovative Design: COO Ed Browka, Chief Scientist Gavin McIntyre, and CEO Eben Bayer

Eben Bayer invented biodegradable packaging material and building insulation made from mushrooms and other agricultural byproducts.

Bayer’s products were designed as part of a class project when he was an engineering undergraduate at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Now, his firm Ecovative Design has a factory that produces the building insulation Greensulate and the packaging material Acorn.

The eco-friendly products are natural alternatives to Styrofoam, but require 10 times less energy to be made, as electricity and fossil fuels are not needed for production.

Not only that, but the materials are compostable and recyclable.

Filed under: Agricultural, Environmental, Industrial / Manufacturing, Materials, Trailblazers

Tags: Agricultural, Environmental, Green Technology, Industrial / Manufacturing, Materials