3D printed living material actively extracts CO2 from atmosphere

Researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland have developed a printable living material that actively extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The material contains photosynthetic bacteria that binds CO2 in two distinct ways, forming biomass and solid minerals. The researchers say the material could reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure. 

The research, undertaken by an interdisciplinary research team led by Mark Tibbitt, Professor of Macromolecular Engineering at ETH Zurich, incorporates this photosynthetic bacteria—known as cyanobacteria—into a printable gel. This material can then be 3D printed into a variety of different shapes and structures, which continue to grow over time, while also removing carbon from the air.

The 3D printable building material requires just three things to grow: sunlight, CO2 and artificial seawater with readily available nutrients. Excitingly, it absorbs much more CO2 than it binds through organic growth, as it can store carbon in both biomass and in the form of minerals, which is a special property of the cyanobacteria. This unusual function has numerous benefits. In particular, the minerals are deposited inside the material and reinforce it mechanically, meaning the cyanobacteria slowly hardens the initially soft structures, making them both functional and environmentally friendly.

“Cyanobacteria are among the oldest life forms in the world,” explains Yifan Cui, one of the two lead authors of the study, which was put together as part of the university’s Advanced Engineering with Living Materials (ALIVE) project. “They are highly efficient at photosynthesis and can utilize even the weakest light to produce biomass from CO2 and water.”

A scaled-up version of the research was recently demonstrated at the 2025 Venice Biennale in the form of Picoplanktonics, an exhibition of large printed structures containing cyanobacteria. The largest of the printed structures, a trunk-like piece measuring more than three meters in height, can reportedly capture up to 18kg of CO2 a year, making it as efficient at carbon capture as a 20-year-old pine tree in a temperature environment.

The researchers used three different forms of printing hardware during their research. For disc-shaped samples, the team used a Cellink BioX pneumatic direct ink writing bioprinter. Then, to print the same material in 3D lattice structures—facilitating gas and nutrient transport within the printed constructs in order to improve their carbon sinking ability—they used a Readily3D Tomolite tomographic bioprinter.

Making 3D printed lattice structures with the Tomolite has been key to unlocking the full potential of the material. “We created structures that enable light penetration and passively distribute nutrient fluid throughout the body by capillary forces,” says Dalia Dranseike, the other lead author of the paper. This design enabled the encapsulated cyanobacteria to live productively for more than a year.

Finally, for the large-scale architectural models seen at the Venice Biennale as part of the Picoplanktonics exhibition, a “first-of-its-kind robotic 3D printing process that infuses a sedimentary scaffold with bacteria” was deployed. According to Tibbitt, the ramifications of the 3D printed living material research could be significant, as architects seek ways to reduce the carbon footprint of new structures. “As a building material, it could help to store CO2 directly in buildings in the future,” he says.