--- title: "Scientists Build Circuit Boards Based on Mushrooms" description: "Researchers in Austria are making biodegradable computer chip substrates out of the mushroom skin. The results are promising." date: "2022-11-20" modified: "2022-11-20" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/circuit-board-mushrooms" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "computer chips" - "e-waste" - "mushrooms" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Build Circuit Boards Based on Mushrooms ![Researchers in Austria are making biodegradable computer chip substrates out of the mushroom skin. The results are promising.]() *Close- up Blue Oyster fungi mushroom on dark background. Dramatic chiaroscuro lighting. \Image: Getty Images\* ## MycelioTronics Electronic waste, also known as "e-waste," is a [major polluter](), not to mention an increasingly difficult issue to combat. Excitingly, however, a team of Austrian scientists are working on a creative new solution to solve at least part of the e-waste puzzle: they're making biodegradable substrates for electronics out of mushroom skins. Yes, really. And per the scientists' proof-of-concept [paper]() published in *Science Advances*, these materials — dubbed "MycelioTronics — are showing some incredible promise as a possible replacement for traditionally plastic printed circuit boards, among other applications. ## Skin Deep Substrates, which provide a heating and cooling foundation for computer components, make up the bulk of many electronic products. Unfortunately, they're both incredibly difficult to separate from other components and made of non-recyclable plastics. In other words, substrates contribute heavily to the [roughly 50 million metric tons]() of estimated e-waste generated each year. "The substrate itself is the most difficult \[part\] to recycle," Martin Kaltenbrunner, a researcher at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria and one of the scientists on this project, [told *New Scientist*](). "It's also the largest part of the electronics. That's where the mushrooms come in, originating in a happy lab accident: while researching whether it was possible to make insulation for homes out of mushroom skin, the scientists discovered that the mycelium-covering skins of reishi mushrooms in particular were surprisingly "robust, flexible, and heat resistant," able to withstand temperatures up to nearly 500 degrees Fahrenheit. So, basically, all of the qualities you might need in electronics' substrates. Excitingly, the researchers told *New Scientist* that if kept out of UV light, the products have the potential to last for a very long time. When it ultimately comes time to sunset the device, the substrate can simply be placed in soil, where it will biodegrade — thus naturally separating from the more recyclable computer components that the substrates hold. ## Looking Forward The results have been promising. According to a [press release](), the material was tested by soldering a standard computer chip into it — and the researchers say the mushroom skin did pretty a solid job. And though it's not ready for production just yet, the hope is that one day this mycelium material will become the substrate norm for printed circuit boards, flexible electronics, and even some medical devices. "The prototypes produced are impressive," Andrew Adamatzky, a computer scientist at the University of the West of England, told *New Scientist*, "and the results are groundbreaking." **READ MORE:** *[Computer chip made using mushroom skin could be easily recycled]()* \[*New Scientist*\] **More on mushrooms:** *[Elon Musk Has Reportedly Been Telling Friends about Benefits of Shrooms and MDMA]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()