InventWood Raises $8 Million and Appoints Tyler Huggins as CEO as It Prepares For Early 2025 Commercial Launch

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Aug 08, 2024, 09:00 ET

The company is enhancing the economic viability of regenerative forestry practices through its production of high-value climate-resilient building products.

FREDERICK, Md., Aug. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- InventWood, transforming undervalued wood into high-performance climate-resilient Superwood building products that are stronger and lighter than steel, today announced $8 million in new funding and the appointment of Tyler Huggins, Ph.D. as its new Chief Executive Officer. The company is planning its commercial launch in early 2025 with two key priorities: establishing its scaled supply chain to ensure every tree used is chosen purposefully to improve the health and longevity of our forests, and commissioning the company's pilot production facility capable of profitably producing up to one million square feet of product annually. InventWood's proprietary technology stack transforms wood's intrinsic nano-cellulose structure – nature's strongest material – into climate-resilient Superwood products that offer unrivaled fire, insect and rot resistance with bulletproof hardness, while maintaining highly desirable wood aesthetics. With superior strength at low cost, InventWood is on a mission to displace some of our dirtiest industrial materials like steel and concrete, evolving our built environment from a carbon source to a carbon sink, all while improving the health and resilience of our forests.

"After dedicating more than two decades to better the environment by harnessing the wisdom of nature, I'm thrilled to lead InventWood as the company fundamentally enhances what wood can do, empowering biophilic building design while driving regenerative forest management practices," said Huggins. "The reality is that our global forests are threatened by climate change and catastrophic wildfires. By enhancing the economic viability of comprehensive forest restoration through high-value building products, we can turn a problem into an elegant solution with climate-resilient structures around the world. This opportunity to transform how we source and create wood-based products is fully aligned with my expertise and passion, and I have searched my whole career to find a naturally integrated business that enhances our built environment while simultaneously healing our natural environment."

Huggins, an accomplished senior leader with more than 20 years dedicated to protecting and restoring America's forests and leading sustainable initiatives across environmental engineering and biotechnology, joins InventWood at a pivotal moment as the company begins to scale its pioneering 100% wood facade.

As the company prepares for its early 2025 commercial launch, InventWood raised a new round of $8 million. Joining existing investor Grantham Foundation, are new investors including Builders Vision, Echelon and John Rockwell, four-time CEO of successful clean technology companies and partner in multiple private investment firms. The comprehensive list of financial contributors is composed of individuals with passion for and expertise in ventures that will better the health of our planet. Paul Hawken, prominent environmentalist, writer and entrepreneur, serves as a company advisor, and his home will be one of the first-ever to apply the Superwood cladding.

By applying the company's automated and advanced manufacturing, InventWood is preparing for early 2025 availability of its Superwood products. The company's pilot manufacturing facility in Frederick, Md. will be capable of producing diverse finishing and structural applications. Learn more about InventWood and its technology at www.inventwood.com.

About Tyler Huggins, Ph. D.

Tyler Huggins is an environmentalist, scientist, entrepreneur, and the CEO of InventWood. Growing up in the pristine landscapes of Montana and on his family's bison ranch in Nebraska, he developed a passion for creating nature-driven sustainable enterprises that protect the planet while helping human beings thrive. While pursuing his doctorate in environmental engineering at UC Boulder, Tyler co-founded Meati Foods which creates whole-food cutlets and steaks made from mycelium, and he led the company's foray into more than half of all grocery stores in the U.S.

Tyler has published nine journal articles that have received more than 130 citations and has numerous patents to his name, was awarded a highly competitive Office of Naval Research grant, using the award to study the production of biomass-derived carbon materials. Tyler's experiences as a rangeland ecologist studying natural grasslands and restoring forests have fueled his passion and heavily informed his unique expertise for businesses that can serve as a tool to positively reshape our world while creating an economy that is good for people and the environment.

About InventWood

InventWood purposefully chooses every tree used to support the health and longevity of our forests while transforming undervalued wood into high-performance climate-resilient Superwood building products that are stronger and lighter than steel with unmatched durability and aesthetics. With a goal to reshape the world, regenerate forests and slash gigatons of carbon emissions, InventWood is delivering an end-to-end, vertically and naturally integrated solution that results in carbon-negative construction, from cradle to regeneration. In 2022, InventWood was awarded a $20 million SCALEUP award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

SOURCE InventWood Inc.