Product Development at Vendia: the Ultra-light Vendia
Vendia is starting a collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Finland to develop an innovative boat building material. "The weight of a boat is crucial for the speed of sailing boats and electric boats. That’s why we are developing a new, lightweight Vendia material that is about 40% lighter than a comparable Vendia boat plank made of pine wood," says Jouka Dehm. Funded by the Green Transition Fund of the EU Structural Funds, Vendia is exploring new eco-material options. The inner structure of the lightweight Vendia plank consists of the very light wood Paulownia tomentosa, which binds a lot of carbon from the atmosphere and is already commercially grown in the Mediterranean countries and Central Europe.
Researchers at XAMK will test the properties of the lightweight Vendia and compare them with materials made from rainforest wood. "Perhaps this will help reduce deforestation in the future," sighs Jouka Dehm.