Maryland, October 14, 2025 – In a breakthrough for sustainable materials, U.S.-based InventWood has launched “Superwood,” a chemically enhanced timber that’s up to 10 times stronger than steel by weight and six times lighter, promising to transform construction, automotive, and aerospace industries with its eco-friendly profile. Co-founded by Yale University professor Liangbing Hu, the innovation—rooted in over a decade of research at the University of Maryland—re-engineers ordinary wood at the molecular level, boosting tensile strength by 50% over steel while slashing carbon emissions compared to metal production.
The process begins by partially removing lignin—the brownish compound that gives wood its color and rigidity—using a mild chemical delignification bath, rendering it semi-transparent. This exposes cellulose nanofibers, the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, which are then compressed under heat and pressure in a hydraulic machine. The technique densifies the wood’s porous structure, collapsing cell walls and forging dense hydrogen bonds between fibers, yielding a material that’s 20 times tougher than regular wood and 10 times more dent-resistant. Hu’s initial lab trials in 2018 took weeks per plank; InventWood streamlined it to hours, enabling mass production at their Frederick, Maryland facility, which ramps up to 1 million square feet annually starting Q3 2025.
Beyond brute strength, Superwood excels in sustainability: it’s fire-rated Class A (resisting flames better than untreated wood), impervious to rot, fungi, insects, and moisture—ideal for facades, decking, and roofing. With polymer impregnation, it’s outdoor-ready, potentially lightening buildings by 40% for earthquake-prone areas. CEO Alex Lau envisions it replacing steel and concrete, cutting global emissions by leveraging fast-growing basswood over energy-intensive metals. Backed by $50 million in funding—including a $15 million Series A—InventWood holds 140 patents, targeting initial commercial shipments for high-end interiors before expanding outdoors in fall 2025.
As climate pressures mount, Superwood exemplifies bio-inspired engineering: Hu’s “universe in a grain of salt” philosophy harnesses nature’s blueprint for a greener future, where wood outmuscles steel without the ecological toll.
