InventWood Plans to Mass-Produce Wood Stronger Than Steel

While it seems like something from a science fiction novel, its roots lie in a lab located in Maryland.

In 2018, Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University of Maryland, uncovered a technique to convert regular wood into a material stronger than steel. At first, it seemed like just another remarkable discovery destined to stay within the lab walls.

“Numerous people reached out to him,” mentioned Alex Lau, CEO of InventWood. “He thought, ‘This is amazing, but as a university professor, I’m uncertain about the next steps.’”

Rather than giving up, Hu spent the following years refining the technology, reducing production time from over a week to just a few hours. Eventually, it was ready for commercial application, leading him to license the technology to InventWood.

This summer, the startup is set to commence its first production of Superwood.

“Currently, we’re focusing on skin applications with our innovative commercial plant — albeit on a smaller scale,” Lau explained. “Ultimately, we plan to tackle the core structures of buildings. Concrete and steel account for 90% of the carbon emissions in construction.”

To establish the factory, InventWood has secured $15 million from the initial close of a Series A round, led by the Grantham Foundation, with participation from Baruch Future Ventures, Builders VC, and Muus Climate Partners, which the company shared exclusively with TechCrunch.

InventWood’s Superwood begins with traditional timber, predominantly consisting of cellulose and lignin. The goal is to enhance the cellulose present in the wood. “Cellulose nanocrystals are actually stronger than carbon fiber,” Lau pointed out.

The company employs “food industry” chemicals to modify the wood’s molecular structure, followed by compression to strengthen the hydrogen bonds between cellulose molecules.

“We could increase the density of the material by four times; while one might assume it would be four times stronger due to the additional fibers, it’s actually around ten times stronger because of the enhanced bonds formed,” Lau clarified.

The final product is a material with 50% greater tensile strength than steel and a strength-to-weight ratio ten times superior, according to the company. It also boasts a Class A fire rating, making it extremely flame-resistant and impervious to rot and pests. By using certain polymers, it can be stabilized for outdoor applications such as siding, decking, or roofing. The initial products from InventWood will be facade materials aimed at commercial and high-end residential buildings, Lau noted.

The compression process also brings out the colors. “The result resembles more vibrant, tropical hardwoods,” he added.

Ultimately, InventWood envisions using wood chips to create structural beams in any dimension without needing finishing. “Imagine I-beams looking like this,” Lau said, presenting a sample of Superwood. “They’re beautiful, reminiscent of walnut or ipe. These are the natural colors; no stain has been applied.”