Woodchuck announced it is developing its first of its kind AI innovation environment & biomass processing facility at their new global headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, partnering with Beckett Industries, The Right Place, High Alpha Innovation, and NorthStar Clean Energy, a CMS Energy company. The announcement coincides with Tech Week Grand Rapids.
“Woodchuck was founded with the goal to empower contractors, manufacturers, and biomass energy producers by streamlining wood waste diversion and biomass processing. We are committed to transforming waste into valuable resources, reducing landfill usage, and providing a steady, sustainable supply of biomass,” said Todd Thomas, Founder and CEO of Woodchuck.ai.
Woodchuck.AI was developed in partnership with NorthStar Clean Energy, a CMS Energy company, and High Alpha Innovation, to improve the biomass supply chain nationally. Woodchuck’s proprietary AI platform empowers critical waste reduction and sustainability challenges by efficiently diverting wood out of waste streams to produce a consistent reliable source of biomass. As decarbonization initiatives scale, access to high-quality renewable feedstock will be crucial in achieving net-zero targets across industries. Woodchuck is at the forefront of this effort, ensuring that the biomass industry has a reliable and sustainable source of high-quality feedstock.
“Chuck represents a transformative platform at the intersection of sustainability and energy innovation,” said Danny Beckett from Beckett Industries. “Their innovative approach not only addresses critical environmental challenges but also provides a scalable solution that transforms waste into renewable energy or recycled content.”
A Growing Energy Demand and Waste Crisis
Global energy demand is expected to double by 2050, with energy leaders like NorthStar Clean Energy turning to a mix of solar, wind, and biomass to meet these needs. While solar and wind are excellent options, they suffer from intermittency and location dependency. Biomass provides energy producers a consistent reliable baseload energy production, making it a favored option for renewable energy.
Simultaneously, construction and manufacturing companies are facing a critical need to reduce waste and dependency on landfills. The U.S. construction industry alone sent over 41 million tons of wood to landfills last year, a staggering waste of potential energy resources.
Woodchuck’s Dual Solution: Waste Reduction and Renewable Energy
Woodchuck effectively tackles both waste reduction and renewable energy needs through its innovative AI platform. The platform utilizes advanced deep learning image recognition to identify and process wood waste. Initially, the model is trained with captured images, allowing the AI to accurately recognize various types of wood and other materials. The platform utilizes generative AI to produce 3D models of wood and other materials to accelerate the development of woodchuck’s proprietary image recognition algorithms; leveraging generative AI to accelerate deep learning AI. By integrating generative AI into the deep learning models, WoodChuck.ai is not just improving image recognition accuracy—it’s redefining the boundaries of what’s possible in automated waste management. This technology enables Woodchuck to train the models faster and more efficiently, turning real-time data into actionable insights at unprecedented speeds.
The Woodchuck.ai platform automatically schedules wood waste pickups, tracks diversion rates, and produces detailed custom sustainability reports. By converting wood waste into biomass, Woodchuck creates a reliable supply chain for bioenergy producers and contributes to a cleaner environment.
Partnerships and Future Growth
NorthStar Clean Energy, Genesee Power Station, and Mid-Michigan Recycling began a trial program with Woodchuck AI in March of 2024. As a result of this partnership, NorthStar has received 76.5 tons of waste wood products at their processing facilities in Livonia and Macomb, Michigan. Once processed this material was delivered to the Genesee Power Station in Flint, Michigan as a fuel to produce clean biomass energy for residents in eastern Michigan. This collaboration underscores the Woodchuck platform’s potential to drive significant environmental benefits nationally while contributing to the green energy grid.
“We believe that biomass with carbon capture and sequestration has a critical role to play in decarbonizing the grid and creating a sustainable energy system,” said Brian Hartmann, President of NorthStar Clean Energy. “With BECCS, the quality of the biomass supply is critical to ensuring you are making a real impact for the planet. Woodchuck’s one of a kind AI capabilities are a true differentiator for us because they ensure we are focused on the right biomass supply.”
Woodchuck will scale its platform and expand its operations, aiming to divert even more waste from landfills and generate sustainable energy at a national scale. As decarbonization efforts intensify, the need for sustainable biomass sources will only grow, and Woodchuck is well-positioned to lead the charge.
