Opportunity to Invest in Hydrowood

Announcement – OnMarket, 22 June 2023

Opportunity to Invest in Hydrowood

Hydrowood is a Tasmanian company focussed on the sustainable harvesting of Australian timber from hydroelectricity dams with a positive net environmental impact.

Hydrowood is timber reclaimed from a forest once lost to the deep. 50 years ago, the valley where the forest stands was flooded to create a dam for the production of clean energy. The trees were submerged, and the trees died.

Flying over the lake in 2012, Hydrowood Director, David Wise, saw the tops of the giant trees reaching up out of the water, and it sparked an idea. What if this timber was not lost? What if it could be reclaimed? Today Hydrowood timber is widely used, and the brand recognised across the globe.

David had discovered the largest quantity of environmentally friendly specialty Tasmanian timber found in years – Tasmania’s rarest and most sought-after timbers.

This discovery led to Hydrowood securing a 5-year license agreement with a rolling provision with Hydro Tasmania to access Lake Pieman and, more recently, negotiations for access to three additional lakes.

After eight years of R&D, Hydrowood has established world leading operations. The Hydrowood process is now proven with approximately $2 million in pre-commercial sales, drawing the attention of some of the world’s leading brands and designers.

The emerging opportunity – Hydrowood

There’s 300 million tonnes of timber submerged in lakes worldwide, which equates to $50b in value. As global access to land-based natural forest is curtailed, the hidden resource submerged in man-made hydroelectric lakes will be a vital component of the global supply chain.

Timber Shortages

There is a global shortage of timber, with timber demand set to quadruple by 2050. With native timber already taking 60-100 years to reach maturity,  Hydrowood is in a unique position to supply sought after timbers.

Increased Environmental Awareness

Hydrowood is independently certified for its environmental compliance. Increased awareness of climate change and the need for sustainable construction materials is driving demand for timber over and above other materials like steel and concrete.

Societal Pressures

Political and social pressures have spurred governments to utilise accredited, climate-friendly building programs. Both the Victorian and the Western Australian Governments recently announced they will end native timber harvesting by 1st January 2024, driving demand for alternative timber sources, such as Hydrowood.

Having spent the past eight years proving business viability in a pre-commercial context, Hydrowood is uniquely positioned to be a major player going forward.

Hydrowood.

The local and global opportunity

To date, Hydrowood have recovered 6,000m³ from Lake Pieman, with over 68,000m³ left to harvest and a further 300,000m³ identified for harvest in other Tasmanian dams. Their focus has been on developing the technology and proving the commercialisation of the business.

Now, with years of process refinement and established IP, Hydrowood have a major advantage in aiding similar projects worldwide, as well as biomass production and methane abatement opportunities.

Growth opportunities presented to date include:

• Hydrowood is in discussions to investigate supplying on-water harvesting equipment, training, and consulting services to recover timber from the extensive network of hydro lakes in Brazil.
• Hydrowood has been approached by a Canadian ENGO to advise on the feasibility of establishing an operation to recover timber in the hydro lakes of British Columbia.
• Hydrowood has been approached on separate occasions to participate in tender processes involving on-water operations for projects in Laos, Malaysia and the Snowy Hydro project in Australia.
• Hydrowood has identified a significant opportunity in the utilisation of its waste products for biomass electricity production in Tasmania.
• Through reclaiming drying and stabilising timber for use in the construction sector, there is an opportunity for Hydrowood to develop a carbon credit abatement revenue stream.

Get more info and access the offer: https://www.onmarket.com.au/offers/hydrowood/?refid=3F38NGLF.