Technology

Maryland start-up ready to produce a wood material stronger than steel

To build its plant, which will be operational this summer, InventWood has raised 15 million from a consortium led by the Grantham Foundation with the participation of Baruch Future Ventures, Builders Vision and Muus Climate Partners

14 May 2025

2' min read

A Maryland start-up, Inventwood, will soon commercialise a wood material that has superior hardness properties to steel.

It all started with research in 2018, when Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University of Maryland, came up with a way to turn ordinary wood into a material stronger than steel. But Hu did not have the opportunity to take the results of his research to an industrial level: 'I am a university professor. I don't really know what to do,' he said at the time.

But rather than give up, Hu spent the next few years perfecting the technology, reducing the time needed to produce the material from more than a week to a few hours. Soon, the material was ready for commercialisation. At that point, the professor decided to licence the technology to a start-up company also based in Maryland, InventWood. The first batches of the new material, called Superwood, will be produced starting this summer.

To build its factory, InventWood raised 15 million from a consortium led by the Grantham Foundation with the participation of Baruch Future Ventures, Builders Vision and Muus Climate Partners.

How SuperWood is made

InventWood's Superwood starts with common wood, which consists mainly of two compounds, cellulose and lignin. The aim is to strengthen the cellulose already present in the wood. 'The cellulose nanocrystal is actually stronger than a carbon fibre,' said Alex Lau, CEO of Inventwood. The company treats it with chemicals that can change its molecular structure, Lau explained, and then compresses the result to increase the hydrogen bonds between the cellulose molecules. "The material can be densified four times, but it is actually 10 times stronger because of the extra bonds that are created," Lau continued.

The result is a material that has 50 per cent higher tensile strength than steel, with a strength-to-weight ratio 10 times better, the company said. It is also classified as Class A fireproof, i.e. highly resistant to flame, and resistant to rot and pests. By impregnating the inside of the material with polymers, it can be stabilised for outdoor use as cladding, decking or roofing. In fact, InventWood's first products will be facade materials for commercial and luxury residential buildings.

The compression also leads to changes in the colour. "The end result is something that resembles tropical hardwoods," added Lau.