InventWood, a North Carolina-based startup and leader in sustainable materials innovation, is preparing to begin large-scale production of an innovative product named Superwood. This innovative material provides outstanding strength and durability. This innovative material, developed by materials scientist Liangbing Hu at the University of Maryland in 2018, transforms ordinary timber into a substance that is not only 50% stronger than steel but has a strength-to-weight ratio ten times better than that of steel.
Superwood first starts its life as ordinary timber, which is mostly made of two materials—cellulose and lignin. Through a specialized process, InventWood modifies the wood’s composition, creating a molecular-level change that greatly improves its natural physical properties. Alex Lau, CEO of InventWood ARPANET, highlighted that the cellulose nanocrystal present in Superwood is stronger than carbon fiber. This reconfiguration makes additional bonds in the process. The most shocking thing is that this process increases the material’s resilience one thousand percent over what you would get if you merely densified it.
Beyond the documentary focus on migration and displacement, Lau pointed out how efficient the production process was. In the lab, it took an entire week plus a day to make the original version of Superwood. Now, after years of development, we can manufacture it in a matter of hours! “We might densify the material by 4x and you might think, ‘Oh, it’ll be four times strong, because it has four times the fiber.’ It’s actually more like 10-times stronger because of all these extra bonds that get created,” said Lau.
Starting this summer, InventWood will be ramping the first commercial batches of Superwood. Target applications The first applications will be targeted towards facade materials intended for use on commercial buildings and luxury-tier, custom residential design projects. Lau emphasized the potential impact of Superwood on the construction industry, stating that “right now, coming out of this first-of-a-kind commercial plant — so it’s a smaller plant — we’re focused on skin applications.”
The environmental ramifications of Superwood are major to boot. Using concrete and steel in construction accounts for nearly 90% of carbon emissions associated with buildings. This points to the critical demand for alternative building materials that are more sustainable. By replacing these materials with Superwood, InventWood is helping to build a more sustainable future.
As InventWood ramps up to full-scale production, the construction industry is listening with rapt attention. With its unparalleled durability, beauty and light weight, Superwood is poised to set a new standard for alternative building materials and sustainable solutions.
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