Wood is common as parquet flooring, furniture, heat source and building material. In Weiz, Styria, they go one step further and use the raw material as lightweight hybrid components in mobility, installation and mechanical engineering.
Wood is a sustainable CO2 storage that also grows again. Austria is rich in this raw material. Until now, wood was mainly used in the furniture industry. But in Weiz we go back to the future. The first carriage was made of wood in the 15th century, just like the first car. Of course, industrialization changed this and metals took over.
The mobile future is based on wood
In times of climate crisis it is of course important to think differently and innovatively. In Weiz, Styria, groundbreaking work has been carried out for ten years and intensive research is being conducted into the use of wood in mobility, installation and mechanical engineering. “It doesn’t work,” was the initial opinion of the experts. How should you process flammable, splintering and decaying material so that it actually competes with proven materials? The breakthrough was achieved at the Wood Vision Lab in Weiz. The future plan: that the wooden parts used in cars, trains and planes go into series production and become basic equipment. Possible options include side impact protection for cars, battery boxes for cars or chassis panels for high-speed trains. And that’s just a small selection from the range.
So that the research can continue and the implementation can actually take place, a fifth building is now being added to the existing innovation center, in which this high-tech innovation can only be further refined. 16 million euros will be invested in this.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
