BREAKING: Yale Professor’s “Superwood” โPromises Revolution in Construction – Material Boasts โขStrength Rivaling Steel
Frederick, Maryland – A new engineered wood product, dubbed “Superwood,” is poised toโ disrupt the construction industry, offering a โคlighter, stronger, and more sustainable choice to โconventional building materials like steel. Developed by Yale Professor Hongwei Hu, who began the research a decade โคago while at the universityโ of Maryland, โSuperwood โคachieves โits remarkable properties through a novel chemical and compression process.
The breakthrough, โfrist realized in 2017,โค involves boiling wood โขin a chemical โคsolution โฃand then hot pressing โขit to alter its cellular structure, creating a considerablyโ denser material. According to InventWood CEO Alex Lau, “From a chemical and practical standpoint, โit’s โwood,” but with dramatically enhanced โขcharacteristics.
Testing โฃreveals Superwood possesses aโค higher strength-to-weight ratioโค than most structural โคmetals and alloys, is up to โข20 times โขstronger than regular wood, and 10 โtimes more โresistant to dents. The process eliminates the wood’s natural pore structure, making it resistant to mold and insects, โฃand it has achieved top ratings in standard โfire resistance tests.
InventWood, โthe company commercializing the technology, โคcurrently manufactures Superwood at its facility in Frederick, Maryland. Initialโข applicationsโค will โfocusโค on โexterior uses like decking and siding, with plans to expand into interior components – wall panels, flooring, and furniture – in the comingโ year. Lau notes the potential โto replace metal components in โfurnitureโ prone to breakage.
While currently more expensive to produce than โคconventional wood and possessing a larger manufacturing carbon footprint,InventWood claims Superwood’s carbon emissions are 90% lower than steelโค production,with aโ goal of achieving costโ competitiveness. โHuโค has secured over 140 patents related to theโ process, and Lau envisions a futureโ where entire buildings are โคconstructed from the innovative material,โข potentially reducing structural weight โขby up to four times and increasing earthquake resistance. the process has been โsuccessfully tested on 19 different wood species and bamboo.