(CNN) Finding clean ways to generate energy is a priority for scientists eager to reduce the world's reliance on fossil fuels. Now, a team of US researchers say they've found a way to make environmentally friendly energy using bionic mushrooms covered in bacteria.

Clusters of energy-producing cyanobacteria were attached to a typical button mushroom using 3D-printing technology, alongside an electrode network to harness the power they produce.

Cyanobacteria are common on land and in the oceans, and scientists are intrigued by their ability to turn light into energy via photosynthesis.

Cyanobacteria appear in green.

Despite research projects examining how cyanobacteria could be used to make electricity, their use in power generation is limited by the fact that they cannot survive for long on artificial surfaces.

However, the mushroom provides great conditions for the bacteria to thrive, thanks to a combination of nutrients, temperature and moisture, and the scientists found they survived several days longer on the mushroom than on other surfaces.

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