Tree-Based Tech — The Future of Maine’s Forest Products Industry
Certain clusters of technology have earned a place in our cultural imagination. Detroit is Motor City. There’s Silicon Valley just south of San Francisco Bay, Research Triangle in North Carolina, and the Route 128 Tech Corridor in Massachusetts. Perhaps someday, if a new collaboration of entrepreneurs, policymakers, and research scientists realize their dream, we might add “The North Woods Innovation Circle” or “Maine’s Nanofiber Forest” to that list.
Built mainly on research originating at the University of Maine and in the state’s once formidable pulp and paper industry, a cluster of start-ups, pilot projects, and early-stage commercial manufacturers are developing a new class of forest products that could someday challenge petroleum, plastics, and a host of other environmentally damaging materials. In doing so, these entrepreneurs won’t simply be chasing profits; they also hope to bolster employment opportunities in Maine, reinvigorate forest-based communities, and keep the North Woods safe from overdevelopment.
