InventWood, a Maryland-based startup, will soon begin mass production of a new type of treated wood that’s stronger than steel but still lighter than titanium. The company is backed by a $20 million grant from the Department of Energy and is expected to start manufacturing the new material, called Superwood, in the summer of 2025.

Superwood is created when untreated wood is treated with mild heat, pressure, and chemicals to realign fibers, which makes it dense.

To make Superwood, lignin, the natural glue that gives wood its color and stiffness, is first removed from untreated wood. It is then compressed using heat under 200°C.

This creates tight hydrogen bonds between the fibers, giving us a material that’s significantly stronger than untreated wood. It’s so strong, in fact, that it has stopped bullets in lab tests.

The tests were conducted by the University of Maryland’s materials science department. It is here that Superwood was first researched and developed by Liangbing Hu and his team.

InventWood was established in 2016, and in 2018, the team first published their findings on Superwood. The study exhibited how compressed wood, if treated properly, could become stronger and tougher than metals like titanium alloy.

Over the years, Liangbing Hu has solely focused on further research and development of the super material. It was not until 2021, when InventWood CEO Alex Lau joined in, that the company’s focus shifted to making Superwood a commercial product.

The company’s secret to innovation lies in cellulose, an abundant plant material that forms the backbone of natural wood.

The realignment of cellulose fibers and the measured stripping of the lignin glue are what make the material hard to crack, tough to bend, and shockingly lightweight.

It can be as strong as 600 megapascals, which is 200 MPa stronger than steel.

What’s amazing is that it is processed at low heat (below 200°C). So it consumes less energy than steel and concrete, which require temperatures above 1,400°C.

Superwood can be made from fast-growing plants like bamboo, wood chips, and even reclaimed urban wood.

Superwood also shines in the sustainability department. Since it can be made from nearly any type of wood, including waste from fallen trees or fast-growing bamboo, it doesn’t require rare or slow-growing forests to supply its raw material.

To prove its point, the company will use waste wood from Maryland for its first batch of production.

Plus, the lower temperatures used during processing make it far more climate-friendly than traditional building materials.

If the company could identify its practical applications, it could replace other less-sustainable materials. It offers lower emissions, easier handling, and more durability than concrete and steel.

As it’s several times stronger than steel by weight, and lighter than titanium, it has an ideal strength-to-weight ratio for use in buildings, vehicles, and other structures where both strength and efficiency matter.

Researchers are also exploring its potential use in building earthquake-resistant structures. It is dense yet flexible enough to absorb shocks better than concrete, which is brittle.

However, more testing is needed before Superwood can be hailed as a useful raw material in shock-proof buildings.