It sounds like something like science fiction, but it actually comes from a lab in Maryland.

In 2018, Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University of Maryland, designed a method to turn ordinary wood into a material stronger than steel. There seems to be another title that catches the discovery that will not take it out of the lab.

“All of these guys come to him,” said Alex Lau, CEO of Invent Wood. “Well, it’s amazing, but I’m a university professor. I don’t know what to do.”

Instead of giving up, Hu perfected the technology over the next few years, reducing the material from more than a week to several hours. Soon, it was ready to be commercialized, and he licensed the technology to inventing wood.

Now, the startup’s first superwoods will be produced this summer.

"Currently, coming out of this first commercial plant, so this is a smaller plant - we focus on skin applications," Law said. "Ultimately, we want to reach the bones of the building. 90% of the carbon impact in the building's buildings is concrete and steel."

To build the factory, the invention raised $15 million in the first closure of the A Series A round. The company is led by the Grantham Foundation, which exclusively tells TechCrunch, Baruch Future Ventures, Builders VC and Muus climate partners for participation.

The invention of Wood’s superwood product began with ordinary wood, which consists mainly of two compounds, cellulose and lignin. The purpose is to enhance the cellulose that already exists in the wood. "Cellulose nanocrystals are actually stronger than carbon fibers," said Lao.

He said the company treated it with "food industry" chemicals to modify lignin in wood and then compress the results to increase hydrogen bonds between cellulose molecules.

"We'll probably be dense at 4 times the rate, and you might be thinking, 'Oh, it's four times the fiber, because it has four times the size." But in reality, thanks to all this extra bond, it's actually more like 10 times. "Lao said.

The result is a material that is 50% more tensile strength than steel, with a ratio of tensile to weight ten times better than steel. It is also a Class A fire, or is highly resistant to flames and resistant to rot and pests. With some polymer impregnation, it can be stabilized for outdoor use, such as siding, deck or roof. Liu said the first products to invent Wood will be facade materials for commercial and high-end residential buildings.

The compressed material also concentrates the color. He added: "You end up getting something that looks richer, tropical hardwood."

Ultimately, the invention Wood plans to use wood chips to create structural beams of any dimensions that do not need to be completed. "Imagine your I-beam looks like this," said Law, lifting up the super wood sample. "They are as beautiful as walnut. These are natural colors. We haven't stained anything yet."