Who Needs Steel? Yamaha Creates Wood Stronger Than Steel With Cellulose Nanofibers

Written by Valdemar Medeiros

Published on 17/10/2023 at 18:39

Foto: Ilustração/LDS

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Moving Towards Sustainability, Yamaha Replaces Some Plastic Parts with Wood Stronger Than Steel. New Product Is 5 Times More Durable Than Any Existing Metal.

As part of its efforts to decarbonize its operations, Yamaha Motor Company has started using cellulose nanofibers derived from wood (CNF) instead of some plastic and steel parts in its vessels. The wood, which the company claims is 5 times stronger than steel, is a state-of-the-art material developed in Japan.

Understanding How Wood Stronger Than Steel Is Produced

Yamaha began marketing the products in North America on August 25 of this year. The product is now being commercially used in transportation equipment for the first time, drawing considerable attention, with the appeal of reducing the carbon footprint of consumer companies.

The “Nikkei Asia” tracked the steps of how Yamaha managed to bring CNF products to market, leveraging Japan’s unique position as the “Land of Wood.” The wood stronger than steel is produced by decomposing the wood pulp to a minimal level. Currently, there are about 26 factories producing the product throughout Japan. Despite its high environmental adaptability, its production is relatively expensive.

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Yamaha Plans to Develop Wood-Based Engine

According to the Japanese brand, starting in 2024, some components of its engines used in personal watercraft will be produced from wood. In reality, we won’t see wood directly applied to the engines, but rather a resin composite derived from wood.

This new material developed by Yamaha has significant advantages, the most notable being its lightweight nature, as the company states it weighs about 25% less than the current resins used to produce engine components. The wood fibers are applied to materials like polypropylene, using less plastic, and its production process emits less CO2.

On the other hand, parts made using CNF resin are recyclable and can be repurposed by the manufacturer to produce new engine components. Yamaha emphasizes that CNF will not be applied to the main mechanical elements of an engine.

The market will continue with engines made of steel, aluminum, or all kinds of exotic metals such as magnesium or titanium. The intention will be to apply this wood stronger than steel to components like thermostats, pulleys, or water pumps.

Other Projects Around the World Utilizing Wood Stronger Than Steel

At this point, the use of CNF in personal watercraft engines is already planned and confirmed for 2024. However, Yamaha’s idea is to evolve this material to be able to apply the CNF composite to motorcycle engines, meaning we could eventually have a YZF-R1 engine utilizing wood stronger than steel.

It’s worth noting that Yamaha is not alone in this project. The motorcycle manufacturer has partnered with Nippon Paper Industries, a company located in Tokyo.

The two companies also announced that this will be the first time the material will be used on a large scale and in a product available to the public, and they are working to develop other wood-derived materials.

Who Needs Steel? Yamaha Creates Wood Stronger Than Steel With Cellulose Nanofibers

Moving Towards Sustainability, Yamaha Replaces Some Plastic Parts with Wood Stronger Than Steel. New Product Is 5 Times More Durable Than Any Existing Metal.

Understanding How Wood Stronger Than Steel Is Produced

Yamaha Plans to Develop Wood-Based Engine

Other Projects Around the World Utilizing Wood Stronger Than Steel

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Who Needs Steel? Yamaha Creates Wood Stronger Than Steel With Cellulose Nanofibers

Moving Towards Sustainability, Yamaha Replaces Some Plastic Parts with Wood Stronger Than Steel. New Product Is 5 Times More Durable Than Any Existing Metal.

Understanding How Wood Stronger Than Steel Is Produced

Yamaha Plans to Develop Wood-Based Engine

Other Projects Around the World Utilizing Wood Stronger Than Steel

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

A 250-ton transformer traveled 1,929 km by road in India on a slow and planned journey that demonstrates how the power grid relies on giant loads, detours, and impossible routes for regular trucks.

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A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.

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