Our vision
‘We are working towards a world in which we build with wood from three-year-old trees, preserve natural forests and at the same time store millions of tonnes of CO2 for centuries.’
Our vision
‘We are working towards a world in which we build with wood from three-year-old trees, preserve natural forests and at the same time store millions of tonnes of CO2 for centuries.’
Our business model: from the young plant to the timber construction
The holistic circularity of our products and maximising the reduction of resources in their manufacture have been the basis of our entrepreneurial activities from the very beginning. After more than 15 years of development work, we can now offer fast, effective and scalable solutions to effectively meet the global challenges of climate change.
WeGrow’s business model is based on the fastest-growing tree, the Kiri tree. Fast tree growth means:
- Faster wood availability
- faster and higher CO2 sequestration
- recurring harvests due to resprouting
Based on these characteristics, the two founders Allin and Peter began developing the WeGrow business model while they were still students. The aim was to create a sustainable wood supply without clearing natural forests and to bring both the bound CO2 and the wood produced into a long-lasting, circular utilisation cycle.
Our products are solutions for creating a sustainable planet.
The business model from young plant to timber construction in the video
the fastest growing tree on our planet:
The Kiri tree
Today, WeGrow has four of its own non-invasive and protected Kiri tree varieties (Paulownia), which enable sustainable and economical cultivation in most of the world’s growing regions. The Kiri tree is considered the fastest-growing tree on earth and is ecologically superior to other fast-growing trees. Thanks to its fast growth and high wood quality, the first yields are possible after just 3 to 6 years, depending on the location.
The Kiri tree at a glance
1. can be harvested as early as 3-4 years after planting for house construction
2. sprouts again after harvesting, without replanting
3. binds a lot of CO2 from the atmosphere
4. improves soil fertility
5. improves the water balance
4 metres in 3 months
Left 12-year-old beech tree, right 12-year-old Kiri tree
Holistic circular economy
WeGrow’s business concept begins with the production of young plants in “CropFactories” and their delivery to customers in currently 47 countries worldwide. Some of the wood produced by PLANTS customers is delivered to the KiriFactories operated by WeGrow after 3-4 years. Here it is processed into solid wood construction modules and other wood-based building materials. The finished, transportable, modular building kit is delivered to international customers. This circular economy goes hand in hand with significant CO2 sequestration and long-term storage, meaning that the development of the CO2 CREDITS division will play an equally relevant role in the future development of the Group.
PLANTS: Our base
The PLANTS division forms our basis. This year, we are supplying 850,000 trees to our international partners and are recording annual growth of over 60 % for the third year in a row. We are proud to be working with our cultivation partners to drive forward the basis for a sustainable wood supply outside our natural forests. The map shows the 47 countries in which we already supply customers with our young plants.
TIMBER FARMING: Sustainable material supply
With the TIMBER FARMING division, we are securing the sustainable supply of materials and creating the basis for growing and successful cultivation projects with the dynamic transfer of expertise to our PLANTS customers. After more than 10 years of development work, the first harvests are now starting from our own cultivation areas and those of our customers, thus determining the time for the commissioning of the first KiriFactoy production plant for the manufacture of wood-based ecological building materials in the TIMBER PRODUCTS division.
Our goal in the next step: wood production without land consumption
In the next step of our growth, we have formulated the goal of realising our wood production completely without using any land. Thanks to long-term studies, we know that we can achieve this goal by combining Kiri trees and food.
Although 10 to 15 per cent of the arable land is initially used for planting Kiri tree strips, the rapid growth soon has the positive effect of improving the water balance in the area between the rows of trees, which means that the yield of the food between them remains the same as before the trees were planted. In our view, the farmers of the future will have three pillars of yield: Food as before, plus wood, plus CO2 certificates.
TIMBER PRODUCTS: realising the potential
In preparation for the upcoming harvests of kiri wood from sustainable cultivation outside the forest, we at WeGrow have dedicated ourselves to the task of bringing as much as possible of each grown tree into a sustainable, circular cycle during processing.
At WeGrow, we see buildings of the future as material stores for building materials which, due to their nature and composition, can be completely dismantled and reused at any time.
The building materials we have developed are based on just a few different standardised building blocks. Similar to a LEGO system, this enables a wide variety of building constructions. A high degree of prefabrication and simple assembly on site reduce the construction time for the shell to a few days and at the same time solve the challenge of the shortage of skilled labour.
The absence of metals and glues as connectors makes our building materials even more sustainable, facilitates dismantling and enables complete reusability as a circular building system.
From 2025, WeGrow plans to commission its own fully automated production plant for the manufacture of KiriBloX® with a secure supply of materials from sustainable Kiri cultivation outside natural forest stands.
More than
trees planted
More than
tonnes of CO2 are removed from the atmosphere each year by WeGrow Kiri trees
We already supply
countries worldwide with our Kiri trees
Press
07.10.2024
Rheinische Post: Reporting on the listing on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange
Four years ago, the German newspaper Rheinische Post reported on WeGrow for the first time. Now the editor asked what has happened at WeGrow since then – and a lot has happened!
27.09.2024
Press release:
WeGrow AG: Successful listing on the open market of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange
Tönisvorst, 27 September 2024 – WeGrow AG, Europe’s leading sustainable kiri wood producer, is celebrating its stock market debut. Today, all 14,274,799 bearer shares (ISIN: DE000A2LQUV1, WKN: A2LQUV) of the company were successfully included in trading on the open market of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange. The fact that the shares are now tradable enables investors …
02.05.2024
ARD “Mittagsmagazin”: Coverage as part of the Earth Overshoot Day
As part of Earth Overshoot Day, the ARD Mittagsmagazin showed an exciting report about WeGrow. In the report, Peter Diessenbacher presented some of the solutions that the Kiri tree offers for a sustainable planet.
14.09.2023
WDR “Hier und heute”: Live report on the Kiri tree
Last Tuesday, we were visited by Chadia Hamadé and her camera team. Peter Diessenbacher told her live on WDR about our current intercropping concept, in which we have grown Hokkaido pumpkins in addition to the Kiri trees.
10.03.2023
TV/WDR Lokalzeit: First harvest of the Kiri climate tree in Germany
On Thursday, the television team from WDR accompanied us during the first harvest of the Kiri trees in Bonn. We planted the trees 12 years ago and are delighted that this day was also documented in the following television programme.
