At first, inventwood wood will adorn the facades and roofs. Ultimately, this material will serve as beams with authentic charm.
Inventwood, a company from the University of Maryland, prepares the large -scale production of solid wood. Named Superwood, its resistance exceeds that of steel, with a start -up planned for the summer of 2025.
Super Bois, from the University of Maryland to Inventwood
The origin of the superwood dates back to 2018. Liangbing Hu, professor at the University of Maryland, presented a solid wood capable of competing with steel.
This discovery, initially confined to the laboratory, aroused great interest. Hu has then optimized the manufacturing processreducing the production time from several days to a few hours.
This laboratory feat has aroused great interest. The researcher then sold The license in Inventwood,, Directed by Alex Laugranting him a permission to a marketing phase.
To finance this super wood project, Inventwood brought together $ 15 million During a standard A financing lap. Mobilization led by the Grantham Foundation, with the participation of Baruch Future Ventures, VC builders and Muus Climate Partners.
These funds will allow Commissioning of a pilot factoryof modest size, planned to start production this summer. It will be a first step towards a larger -scale production.
A more real than life finish
The superwood is made from ordinary woodmainly composed of cellulose and lignin.
A chemical treatmentusing substances from the food industry, modifies its molecular structure.
Compression then strengthens the hydrogen bonds between the cellulose nanocrystals. “” The cellulose nanocrystal is actually more resistant than a carbon fiber “Said Lau.
This process densifies the material up to four times and increases its Resistance up to ten times thanks to molecular interactions.
The wood thus treated with inventwood has concentrated natural colors, such as walnut or ipé, without dye. “” We obtain a result that looks like these richer tropical hardwoods “Said Lau.
For more ecological constructions
The first superwood applications will focus on facade coatings,, roofs or terraces, intended for commercial and residential buildings. In the longer term, Inventwood plans to produce Structural beams from wood chipsfor applications in the construction of buildings.
This project aims to meet the environmental challenges of construction, where concrete and steel generate 90 % of the carbon footprint of buildings. The superwood displays a 50 % higher traction resistance to that of steel and a resistance/weight ratio ten times higher.Class to category A fire, it also resists rot and parasites. This material is imbued with polymers, is thus suitable for external uses.
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