Everybody in the Pool

E117: Reinventing Wood Without Trees


Listen Later

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re starting the year with an audacious question: what if we reinvented one of the most basic materials in the world?

Decarbonizing the built environment means tackling the stuff we use everywhere — wood, concrete, and steel — at the same time we’re trying to build millions of new homes, strengthen supply chains, and reduce our exposure to geopolitical and climate risk. That’s a tall order. But it’s also unavoidable.


My guest is Nathan Silvernail, co-founder and CEO of Plantd, a company building a tree-free, carbon-negative alternative to engineered wood. Designed as a drop-in replacement for OSB (oriented strand board), Plantd’s material looks and behaves like conventional wood — but without cutting down trees. And they’re not stopping at the material itself: Plantd is building the machines, manufacturing process, and agricultural supply chain needed to produce it at scale.


We talk about:
  • Why “sustainable wood” isn’t always as sustainable as it sounds
  • Why trees can’t scale fast enough to meet demand and climate goals
  • What it takes to replace a commodity material without asking builders to change how they build
  • The co-benefits: turning waste into biochar and high-purity carbon for adjacent industrial markets
  • The hard realities of scaling hardware, agriculture, and manufacturing at the same time


LINKS:
  • Plantd: https://www.plantdmaterials.com/
  • All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/
  • Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/
  • Become a member for the ad-free version of the show:
  • https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/
  • Visit our sponsor, Climatize, and get $50 in investment credits when you create a profile!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Everybody in the PoolBy Molly Wood

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

225 ratings


More shows like Everybody in the Pool

View all
Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,196 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,549 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,814 Listeners

Marketplace by Marketplace

Marketplace

8,760 Listeners

Marketplace Morning Report by Marketplace

Marketplace Morning Report

928 Listeners

Marketplace All-in-One by Marketplace

Marketplace All-in-One

1,384 Listeners

Marketplace Tech by Marketplace

Marketplace Tech

1,277 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,420 Listeners

Make Me Smart by Marketplace

Make Me Smart

5,493 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,664 Listeners

The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

9,572 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,352 Listeners

This Is Uncomfortable by Marketplace

This Is Uncomfortable

3,571 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,564 Listeners

Sources & Methods by NPR

Sources & Methods

794 Listeners