Imagine wood so strong it rivals steel, yet far lighter, renewable, and producing 90 percent less carbon emissions. That’s exactly what SuperWood, developed by InventWood, a startup spun out from the University of Maryland, offers. 

With a strength-to-weight ratio 10 times higher than steel and 50% greater tensile strength, this engineered wood promises to revolutionize construction, transportation, aerospace, and more. It is fireproof and isn’t affected by pests and moisture. 

As InventWood gears up for mass production, the company claims that its high-performance wood could eventually replace steel almost everywhere.

“SuperWood can effectively replace steel, concrete, and aluminum in many applications, significantly reducing carbon emissions and resource dependence. We believe it has substantial potential to become mainstream globally,” Christina Ra from InventWood told ZME Science.

The science of SuperWood

The process of making SuperWood starts with plain wood boards, often fast-growing softwoods like pine or balsa. Scientists treat them in a two-step process. The first is a chemical treatment during which the wood is boiled in a mix of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite, removing much of its lignin and hemicellulose. 

This process partially strips the wood’s natural structure while preserving cellulose, the strong, fibrous backbone. The next step is hot-press densification, where the softened boards are hot-pressed at moderate temperatures (~65 °C) under pressure. 

This collapses cell walls and aligns the cellulose nanofibers, boosting hydrogen bonding between them. Even though the wood is only compressed four times, its strength increases almost 10 times, thanks to these new molecular bonds.

“SuperWood is created through a patented, molecular transformation that reorganizes and densifies the cellulose nanofibrils within natural wood,” Ra said.

The result is a dense, robust board that’s 12 times stronger than natural wood, tougher, fire-resistant, weatherproof, and pest-resistant. The InventWood team validated their material’s mechanical and environmental properties through some tests. 

“These tests included assessments of tensile and compressive strength, impact resistance, fire resistance (achieving Class A rating), and durability against moisture, insects, and rot. The outcomes consistently demonstrated superior strength combined with exceptional durability,” Ra added.

The only major challenge is cost

SuperWood can be used for building facades, structural beams, aircraft interiors, and furniture. InventWood’s newly built factory in Frederick, Maryland, backed by a $15 million funding, is about to begin producing millions of square feet of this material annually, with initial focus on architectural panels. 

An interesting thing about the SuperWood making process is that it isn’t limited to pine or balsa. The InventWood team suggests that other types of wood can also be transformed into SuperWood using a similar approach, making it a very practical and scalable alternative to steel.

However, there’s one big challenge that can prevent SuperWood from becoming a mainstream material — and that’s cost. Steel is priced between $1 to $2 per pound, while SuperWood currently stands at over $12.5 and can go up to $25 per pound. 

How InventWood will close this price gap remains to be seen.