Utah-Based Ski and Board Maker Pioneers Use of Algae and Biotechnology, Paves a More Renewable Way Forward in the Outdoor Industry and Beyond
Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Time Magazine announced its list of the best inventions of 2024, recognizing WNDR Alpine's Shepherd snowboard in the Outdoor category for its development and innovative use of the first materials in the world developed specifically for skis and snowboards and made with cutting-edge biotechnology.
"We developed the Shepherd from the conviction that through biotechnology and materials science, we could outperform petroleum-based materials, even in the most demanding applications. This board is on the market today as real life, tangible evidence that with biotechnology, a renewable future is indeed achievable,” said Xan Marshland, WNDR Alpine's Manager of Brand Development. "This board is now being ridden on mountains worldwide and garnering accolades from athletes, mountain safety professionals, and passionate enthusiasts alike. And while the Shepherd speaks directly to our community of winter sports athletes, the materials inside it can be scaled for use far beyond the outdoor industry.”
Replacing Petroleum with Performance-Oriented Materials Derived from Microalgae Oil
By taking biomaterials innovation out of the lab and onto the mountain, the Shepherd represents a groundbreaking achievement in environmentally responsible product design. The Shepherd features components derived from microalgae oil and from reclaimed production waste and was developed at WNDR's Design Lab in Salt Lake City explicitly for use in a snowboard. Specific innovations include:
- Algal Wall: a biobased cast polyurethane sidewall derived from microalgae oil, formulated to deliver better damping performance than a traditional, petroleum-based ABS sidewall. This translates to less vibration transferred from the snow to the rider - enabling greater confidence at speed, especially on variable snow surfaces. The beauty of this property is its universal benefit - allowing expert and professional riders to push their limits at the upper end of the sport, while simultaneously helping boost confidence and stability under more intermediate riders.
- Algal Core: a composite of domestically sourced aspen and microalgae-based polyurethane hard foam, which reduces weight and provides optimal damping characteristics. Continued iteration on Algal Core also enabled the WNDR design team to engineer the right amount of torsional flex - a crucial characteristic in enabling responsive turn initiation in a snowboard.
- Spiral Plate: a binding insert derived from our own production waste. Spiral Plate simultaneously diverts waste from the landfill and delivers better binding screw retention strength than the traditional insert construction that it replaces.
Microalgae Oil and a Post-Petroleum Future
Microalgae oil is produced through industrial fermentation in stainless steel fermenters, with very minimal water, energy, and land use inputs. It's also highly scalable, meaning that the material discoveries animated in products like the Shepherd can quickly be scaled and custom formulated to meet the demands of the many industries that currently rely on petroleum-based materials.
Adoption of this technology is already growing across the outdoor industry, with materials pioneered by WNDR Alpine being adopted into premium water skis by HO Sports and kite surf boards by Duotone via partnership with board technology innovator SWS.
The next step forward will involve further adoption across the outdoor industry and beyond.
About WNDR Alpine
WNDR Alpine was launched by biotechnology company Checkerspot in 2019 to empower outdoor athletes with higher performing products made from a better source of oil. Every WNDR Alpine product is equipped with materials derived from microalgae - a biobased resource. Using microalgae oil, WNDR Alpine engineers high performance materials and ingredients for use in our award-winning skis, snowboards, and technical apparel. The Phase Series represents the next chapter of the brand's mission to bring performance from biomanufacturing into more facets of the outdoor athlete's daily life. Algae in, petroleum out.
CONTACT: Tim LeRoy
BluBird Communications
