The company produces hardwood that is harder than steel.

This type of wood has a dense structure and strength comparable to steel. Photo: InventWood .

In 2018, Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University of Maryland, discovered a way to transform ordinary wood into a material stronger than steel. This technology is now poised for mass production.

At first, this experiment seemed like a groundbreaking discovery, but it would eventually sit dormant in a gallery. Many people approached Hu asking about business opportunities. At the time, he told them that he was just a university professor and didn't know what to do next with the project.

However, instead of giving up, Hu spent the next few years refining the technology, shortening the material production time from over a week to just a few hours. Soon, the technology was ready for commercialization, and he licensed it to InventWood.

The startup is currently producing its first batches of Superwood, starting this summer. Alex Lau, CEO of InventWood, said the scale of this first commercial factory is still small. The initial products will be used to build the "skin" of buildings—non-load-bearing parts that still require aesthetics and durability.

In the long term, they want to move towards replacing the backbone of buildings from traditional materials to ultra-hardwood. "Because 90% of carbon emissions from buildings come from concrete and steel during construction," Lau said.

To build this plant, InventWood raised $15 million in its first Series A funding round. The process was led by Grantham Fund, with participation from Baruch Future Ventures, Builders VC, and Muus Climate Partners, three prominent funds investing in sustainable technology, climate, and materials innovation.

Superwood products start from ordinary wood, which is mainly composed of two compounds: cellulose and lignin. In fact, nanocrystalline cellulose is actually harder than carbon fiber. Therefore, the main goal is to enhance the strength of this inherent property in wood.

The company uses chemicals used in the food industry to alter the molecular structure of wood, then compresses the material to increase the number of hydrogen bonds between cellulose molecules.

Superwood is up to 10 times more durable than regular wood. Photo: InventWood.

With the ability to compress materials up to four times, many would think Superwood is significantly stronger. “But in reality, it’s about 10 times stronger thanks to the additional bonds created during the process,” Lau explains.

The process results in a material with a tensile strength 50% higher than steel and a strength-to-weight ratio 10 times better, the company said. The material also meets Class A fire resistance standards, meaning it is highly flammable and resistant to decay and insect infestation.

When infused with polymer, it can stabilize in outdoor conditions, making it suitable for use as exterior walls, flooring, or roofing. Mr. Lau shared that the material's compression process also darkens the color, giving it a look similar to high-end tropical hardwood.

In the long term, InventWood plans to use wood chips, often a byproduct of the manufacturing process, to create structural beams of all sizes. These can be as aesthetically pleasing as high-end natural wood (such as walnut or ipe), without requiring any further cosmetic treatment, Mr. Lau said.