Latest research in hardwood cross-laminated timber

Latest research in hardwood cross-laminated timber

Friday 7 Jun 2024

The mass timber industry, renowned for its innovative laminated wood products and potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions, is growing in use for larger construction projects. However, its expansion in areas like Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with its abundance in hardwood trees, has been uncertain due to the reliance on softwood lumber for cross-laminated timber (CLT) production.

This could change with ongoing research at Michigan Technological University focused on developing new resins that enable hardwood utilisation in CLT manufacturing.

While the commercial availability of hardwood CLT remains unclear, Mark Rudnicki, director of the Hardwood Mass Timber Institute at Michigan Tech, emphasises that it should not be seen as competition for softwood. Instead, it represents a diversification of wood as a construction material, aiming to maximise the use of bio-based resources to replace carbon-intensive materials like concrete and steel.

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Source: Inside Climate News
Image credit: Hardwood Mass Timber Institute

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