A circular electronics industry is not theoretical—it's practical.
Beneath every discarded phone and broken laptop lies a circuit board that will outlast the civilization that made it — bonded with epoxy, laced with fiberglass, and destined for a landfill. Researchers at TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany have begun to answer this quiet catastrophe by growing circuit boards from fungal mycelium, a material that performs adequately for a wide range of electronics and dissolves harmlessly when its useful life is done. Their prototype, AnimatPCB, carries a carbon footprint 56 percent lower than conventional boards and points toward a future in which the electronics industry no longer treats the earth as a dumping ground. Whether that future arrives depends less on the science, which is already promising, than on the will of an industry to reimagine what it builds and what it leaves behind.
- Global e-waste is on course to hit 82 million tons by 2030, and the epoxy circuit boards at the heart of every device are among the hardest materials on earth to recycle or safely dispose of.
- A team of German researchers has grown a functional circuit board from fungal mycelium — agricultural waste pressed and dried into a substrate that matches conventional board density and survives the heat of soldering.
- The AnimatPCB board fully biodegrades in water, allows components to be recovered and reused, and produces 56 percent less CO2 across its entire lifecycle than the boards it could replace.
- The material currently absorbs too much moisture for industrial use and has not yet been certified against the international standards — IPC-A-600 and DIN EN 60249-1 — that manufacturers require before adoption.
- Researchers are confident these are solvable engineering problems, and the technology is already viable for environmental sensors, consumer goods, and toys — markets that collectively account for hundreds of millions of discarded devices each year.
Every year, the world throws away millions of tons of electronics, and at the core of nearly every discarded device is a printed circuit board made from epoxy resin and fiberglass — materials that persist in the environment for decades, leaching toxins into soil and water. A research team at TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany has developed a different kind of board, one grown from fungal mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, that can be composted at the end of a device's life.
The process begins with mycelium sourced from agricultural waste. The material is molded and air-dried into a thin plate roughly half a centimeter thick, achieving a density nearly identical to conventional circuit boards. Using standard manufacturing techniques, the team deposited transistors and other components directly onto the fungal substrate and soldered them by hand. The resulting board — called AnimatPCB — actually functions.
In laboratory testing, the material showed solid mechanical strength and heat stability. Doctoral student Nina Oehlsen, who led the research, acknowledges that electrical performance still trails conventional boards, but argues the substrate is fully adequate for prototypes and low-frequency applications: environmental sensors, consumer goods, toys. These categories represent hundreds of millions of devices manufactured and discarded every year.
The environmental case is striking. AnimatPCB carries a carbon footprint 56 percent lower than conventional boards across its full lifecycle, requires no fossil fuels to produce, and dissolves safely in water at end of life — allowing components to be recovered and reused rather than burned or buried.
The technology is not yet ready for mass production. The boards must clear international certification standards, and their tendency to absorb water needs to be brought under control. These are engineering problems, the researchers say, with engineering solutions. What they have already demonstrated is that functional electronics can be manufactured without creating lasting environmental harm — that a circular electronics industry is not a distant ideal but a practical direction. Whether the industry chooses to follow it remains the open question.
Every year, the world discards millions of tons of electronics—old phones, broken computers, abandoned toys—and most of it ends up in landfills or incinerators, leaching toxins into soil and water. At the heart of every device is a printed circuit board, a rigid substrate that holds the wiring and components together. These boards are made from epoxy resin and fiberglass, materials that persist in the environment for decades. A team of researchers at TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany has developed an alternative: circuit boards grown from fungal mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, that can be composted when the device reaches the end of its life.
The process is straightforward in concept but required careful engineering to execute. The researchers take mycelium—essentially agricultural waste—and mold it, then air-dry it into a thin plate roughly half a centimeter thick. The resulting material has a density of 1.23 grams per cubic centimeter, nearly identical to conventional circuit boards. Using standard electronics manufacturing techniques like direct ink writing and chemical etching, they can deposit transistors and other components directly onto the fungal substrate, then solder them in place by hand. The board they developed, called AnimatPCB, actually works.
In the laboratory, the material demonstrates solid mechanical strength and heat stability—properties essential for any circuit board. Nina Oehlsen, a doctoral student who led the research, notes that while the electrical performance still lags behind conventional boards, the fungal substrate is entirely adequate for prototype devices and low-frequency applications: environmental sensors, consumer goods, toys. These are not niche markets. They represent millions of devices manufactured and discarded annually.
The environmental case for the material is compelling. The fungal mycelium boards carry a carbon footprint 56 percent lower than conventional circuit boards when measured across their entire lifecycle—from raw material extraction through manufacturing to disposal. They require no fossil fuels to produce. And crucially, at the end of a device's life, the board itself is fully biodegradable. It dissolves safely in water. The transistors and other components can be recovered and reused. Nothing is wasted.
The timing matters. By 2030, the world is projected to generate 82 million tons of electronic waste annually, according to the Global E-waste Monitor. Most of that waste is currently non-recyclable. The circuit boards themselves—the structural foundation of every device—are particularly difficult to recover and reuse. They end up in dumps or are shipped to developing countries where they are burned or chemically processed under conditions that poison workers and communities. A biodegradable alternative that performs adequately for a significant portion of the electronics market could reshape the economics of e-waste.
But the technology is not yet ready for mass production. The boards must be tested and certified according to international standards like IPC-A-600 and DIN EN 60249-1, the benchmarks that manufacturers and customers rely on. The material's tendency to absorb water needs to be reduced or controlled. These are engineering problems with engineering solutions, but they require time and investment. The researchers are confident the obstacles are surmountable. What they have demonstrated is that high-quality electronic components can be manufactured without creating long-term environmental burden—that a circular electronics industry is not a theoretical possibility but a practical one. The question now is whether the industry will pursue it.
Notable Quotes
Although electrical properties are still below standard PCBs, fungal mycelium is sufficient for prototype or low-frequency applications like environmental sensors and toys.— Nina Oehlsen, doctoral student, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
We have created a high-quality, functional material from industrial waste without additional fossil raw materials, with up to 56% lower CO2 footprint.— Linus Stegbauer, junior professor for biogenic technical materials, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that these boards are made from fungal waste rather than, say, some other biological material?
Because mycelium is already abundant as an industrial byproduct. You're not competing with food production or creating new agricultural demand. You're taking something that would otherwise be discarded and giving it function.
The electrical properties are still weaker than conventional boards. How do you know where the ceiling is?
You don't, not yet. But the researchers found that for low-frequency applications—sensors, toys, simple devices—the performance is sufficient. That's actually a large market. The question is whether optimization can push the material further without losing the biodegradability advantage.
What happens to the transistors when the board decomposes?
They can be recovered before the board dissolves. The mycelium is the substrate; the components are separate. So you get both material recovery and component reuse. It's genuinely circular, not just marketing language.
The 56 percent lower carbon footprint—is that real or accounting magic?
It's measured across the full lifecycle, which is the honest way to do it. No fossil fuels in production, no energy-intensive recycling at the end. The math is straightforward. But it only matters if the boards actually get manufactured and used at scale.
What's the biggest barrier to that happening?
Certification and standardization. Manufacturers won't touch it until it passes the same tests as conventional boards. That's not a flaw in the system; it's how you ensure quality. But it means the researchers have to prove the material can meet those standards, and that takes time and money.