InventWood plans to begin mass production of a wood material that is stronger than steel, offering a potential shift in sustainable building materials
It may sound like the material of science fiction, but it originates from a laboratory in Maryland.
In 2018, Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University of Maryland, developed a method to transform conventional wood into a material that is more durable than steel.
It appeared to be yet another headline-grabbing discovery that would never be released from the laboratory.
Alex Lau, CEO of InventWood, stated, “All these people came to him. He was like, ‘OK, this is amazing, but I’m a university professor.'” I am uncertain about the appropriate course of action.
Hu spent the subsequent years refining the technology, reducing the time required to produce the material from over a week to a few hours, rather than giving up.
He licensed the technology to InventWood shortly after it was available for commercialization.
The initial quantities of Superwood produced by the startup will commence production this summer.
Lau stated, “At present, we are concentrating on skin applications, as this is the first-of-a-kind commercial plant, which is a smaller plant.”
“Ultimately, our objective is to reach the foundation of the structure.” In the construction of a structure, concrete and steel account for ninety percent of the carbon impact.
InventWood has secured $15 million in the initial close of a Series A round to construct the factory.
The Grantham Foundation led the round, with Baruch Future Ventures, Builders VC, and Muus Climate Partners also participating, the company exclusively disclosed to TechCrunch.
Regular timber, which is primarily composed of two compounds—cellulose and lignin—serves as the foundation for InventWood’s Superwood product.
The objective is to fortify the cellulose that is already present in the wood. Lau stated, “The cellulose nanocrystal is actually more durable than a carbon fiber.”
He stated that the company employs “food industry” compounds to modify the lignin in the wood, and subsequently compresses the resulting material to enhance the hydrogen bonds between cellulose molecules.
“We could densify the material by four times, and you may assume that it will be four times as strong due to the four times the fiber.”
However, Lau asserted that it is actually ten times more powerful due to the additional connections that are formed.
The company stated that the outcome is a material with a strength-to-weight ratio that is ten times greater than steel and a tensile strength that is 50% greater.
Additionally, it is Class A fire-rated, which indicates that it is highly resistant to flames, as well as to rot and vermin.
It can be stabilized for outdoor applications, such as roofing, decking, or cladding, by impregnating it with a specific polymer.
Lau stated that the initial products of InventWood will be facade materials for high-end residential and commercial buildings.
The colors are also concentrated when the material is compressed. “You conclude with a product that resembles these tropical hardwoods that are more luxurious,” he continued.
In the end, InventWood intends to utilize wood chips to fabricate structural timbers of any size that do not require any additional finishing. Lau held up a sample of Superwood, saying,
“Imagine your I-beams look like this,” Lau said, holding up a sample of Superwood. “They’re beautiful, like walnut, ipe. These are the natural colors. We haven’t stained any of this.”
