Woodchuck was founded in Detroit in 2023 by Todd Thomas to transform usable wood from construction debris into a reliable, low-cost biomass feedstock.
The company moved to the Grand Rapids area this year and closed a $3.75 million seed round led by an investor group headed by Mason Fink, with participation from NorthStar Clean Energy (a CMS Energy company), Beckett Industries, Alloy Partners, and The Right Place.
The company’s AI-driven platform is designed to identify and separate usable wood from mixed construction refuse and use it to create energy, lowering waste disposal costs by up to 30 percent, according to the company.
“Woodchuck was founded with the goal to empower contractors, manufacturers, and biomass energy producers by streamlining wood waste diversion and biomass processing,” says Thomas, founder and CEO. “We are committed to transforming waste into valuable resources, reducing landfill usage, and providing a steady, sustainable supply of biomass.”
With the seed round funding, Thomas says, “We will accelerate the development of our AI platform, helping contractors and manufacturers achieve their sustainability goals while contributing to the green energy grid. The future of the bioenergy depends on reliable sustainable sources of biomass.”
In addition to its commercial work, Woodchuck also is supporting disaster recovery in northern Michigan, helping municipalities turn storm-damaged timber into energy rather than landfill waste.
In May, Woodchuck opened its new Grand Rapids facility, which when at full capacity, is expected to divert tens of thousands of tons of wood waste from landfills each year, converting it into renewable biomass to power local industries, support utility decarbonization, and reduce methane emissions from decomposing wood.
It uses AI to sort, identify, and process usable materials, increasing efficiency and transparency in a sector long plagued by fragmentation and contamination challenges, Woodchuck says.
“Construction and demolition sites produce an enormous amount of recoverable wood, yet the majority of it still ends up in landfills,” says Thomas. “This facility changes that. Woodchuck transforms waste into value, reducing costs, reducing landfill usage, and unleashing an abundant energy future.”
Name: Woodchuck
Address: 2151 Butterworth Road, Walker
Email: carson@woodchuck.ai
Website: woodchuck.ai
Phone Number: 989-390-5928
Category: Technology
Founded: 2023
Founder: Todd Thomas
Number of Employees: 20
Most Recent Annual Revenue: Not disclosed
Video Link: Click here
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