Superwood stronger than steel hits the market this year

InventWood is a Maryland-based startup that is set to mass-produce 'superwood', a material created at a local university in 2018. Liangbing Hu's team began by designing the material through a densification process, which results in wood that is four times denser than conventional alternatives, but up to ten times stronger and has a strength-to-weight ratio up to ten times greater than steel.

The material being created now is resistant to fire, weather and pests. The production process has been optimized so that it can be manufactured in just hours, instead of the weeks it originally took. The university has licensed InventWood, which has raised $15 million to build a factory and will begin mass production and ship the materials to customers in the northern hemisphere, New Atlas reports.

To produce this superwood, the team created a two-step process where wood samples are first heated in a liquid mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite to remove the hemicellulose, and then the treated wood is hot pressed, which causes the cells to collapse and form highly aligned cellulose nanofibers.

The initial plan is to sell the superwood for facade cladding and then begin exploring structural applications, such as replacing cement, concrete and steel needed to construct buildings. “This could rival steel and titanium alloys because it is so strong and durable. It is also comparable to carbon fiber, but much cheaper,” Hu said.

The scientist has continued his work since 2018 and has already explored the creation of transparent wood, water filters from burnt wood and even sodium-ion batteries based on wood and leaves.

You can read the full study published in Nature and Science Daily .