Sustainable Bamboo Building Panels

Ocean, a global building materials startup, will be launching a first-of-its-kind bamboo composite panel later in 2025. The product will be first introduced in India with plans for U.S. expansion. After years of research and development, the panels are the first commercial product of the formerly named Eco-Shelter, a group born of the mission to create dignified shelter and building materials that positively impact and restore the health of the planet.

Last year was one of tremendous growth for Ocean. A critical technical milestone was achieved when commercial-scale panels were manufactured at Washington State University (WSU). Currently patent-pending, the panels will be manufactured at Ocean’s first commercial production facility in India.

Ocean also closed over 80% of its $2.5MM equity seed round from investors. The group was also awarded an additional $575,000 of funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation for continued research and development with partners at WSU. This will allow expansion into the next product application, including energy efficient, prefabricated sandwich panels for wall applications.

Through participation in the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s incubator program, IMPEL, Ocean was also selected for several high-profile showcase opportunities including: the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Innovative Housing Showcase at the US National Mall, and Greentown Lab’s “Building Demo Day” in Boston, MA.

Ocean employees and collaborators from WSU, from left: Ivan Wong, industrial designer; Muhammad Khusairy Bin Bakri, WSU post-doctoral researcher; Avishek Chanda, WSU assistant research professor; Krishna Nadella, interim chief production officer; Alexa Bednarz, CEO and founder; and Vikram Yadama, director of WSU’s Composite Materials & Engineering Center. (Ocean Photo)

Ocean’s high-performing bamboo panels are made from bamboo strips and an adhesive, and then coated for durability. (Ocean Photo)