Sound absorbers are a necessity in improving a room’s acoustics, however, many of the materials used in wall fittings today are not sustainable as they are made of mineral fibres and synthetic foams. In an effort to bring to the market a more environmentally friendly alternative, Fraunhofer UMSICHT is collaborating with Fraunhofer IBP to develop fungus-based sound absorbers. As the project manager Julia Krayer has been working on biomaterials for a long time, she saw an opportunity to focus on vegetal substrates and mycelium for the development of new materials. Mycelium consists of a fine network of filament-like hyphae, which can span more than a square kilometre in its natural habitat.