These days, even niche industries are worrying souls searching for more environmentally friendly options for materials and processes, from washing machine waste to synthetic wool. Lingrove They work with laminates – thin layers of wood and other materials – with a carbon negative option that they claim works better while looking good.
Laminate or veneer is common in every home and car: it is a thin decorative wood or what is on top of the molded or printed body of a dashboard, appliance or even home decoration. They’re everywhere, and unfortunately, they’re not always sustainably sourced or manufactured.
Lingrove has developed an alternative to veneer from flax fibers and plant resins, which is carbon neutral but produces a material they say is “extremely hard, durable and resistant”, i.e. touch, temperature and other substances (such as coffee). ). They call it “ekoa” — yes, in lowercase — and they hope to make inroads into cars and other interior surfaces with a new $10 million funding round.
The Series B round was led by Lewis & Clark Agrifood and Diamond Edge Ventures, with participation from Bunge Ventures and SOSV.
The company asserts that its material is not only better for the environment and as good or better in terms of strength, etc., but it can positively impact indoor air quality. Recycled plastic and other upcycled materials are commonly used for things like cabinets and decorations, but they often lack the shape, hardness, or other desirable qualities of these surfaces, and in some cases can give off significant amounts of gases (that’s your “new car smell”).
Image credits: Lingrove
“We have healthy, low-carbon, high-performance air and a beautiful product,” said CEO Joe Luttwak. “The use of post-industrial raw materials can, in some cases, be positive for the environment; however, many of these by-products still emit VOCs.” [volatile organic compounds] Which harm indoor air quality, and cannot be converted into high-performance materials.
Eco materials work well, don’t leach foreign gases into your kitchen or car cabin and look very much like regular wood. They can be adjusted to different shades or opacity, and generally have all the advantages of synthetic laminates while being carbon negative and can be milled up and reused upon retirement.
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Image credits: Lingrove
You may wonder, as I did, why not use actual wood – things like sawdust and wood chips that actually come out of industrial wood handling operations? These materials are perfectly fine structural materials — what’s in the middle of the painting — but they are not decorative, Luttwak said. There’s a reason why MDF boards and the like tend to have at least one side covered in a veneer: the interior wood glue mix isn’t particularly attractive or resistant to things like solvents and oils.
Veneers aren’t the most popular or exciting business, but it’s always encouraging to see innovation happening in the corners of industries where a smart alternative could reach millions of products and at least make them less wasteful.
The new investment should help take the startup from small-scale in-house manufacturing to fulfilling all of its pre-orders and expanding into the automotive world.