Alberta Hemp Provides Opportunity for Business and Consumers
November 14, 2007 - Edmonton
Alberta hemp may find its way into everything from your home to your car thanks to work at the Alberta Research Council (ARC). A new $2.25 million project is finding ways to use Alberta-grown hemp fibres and Alberta manufactured polymers to produce a biocomposite that is far more sustainable compared to conventional materials.
“Products made from biocomposites include car parts, building materials and other consumer goods,” says Dr. John Wolodko, program leader at ARC. “Those types of products work as well as those made from conventional materials and they can have the added advantages of being lighter and less expensive. The ability of environmentally friendly biocomposites to compete with non-renewable products like fiberglass makes for a promising future for the industry.”
Biocomposites are popular in Europe but the industry does not exist in Alberta. “We have the opportunity to take what they’ve learned in Europe, adapt the technology for Alberta and provide the foundation for a new industry,” says Wolodko.
“This is another example of how the Alberta government is committed to growing Alberta’s bioeconomy,” says Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. “This project has the potential to provide new opportunities for economic growth, particularly in rural Alberta”.
ARC’s biofibres development team is the largest of its kind in Canada, offering solutions from “first seed to final product.” ARC’s capabilities in producing, processing and creating advanced biocomposites from industrial hemp, flax, cereal crop and wood fibres are positioning the province to assume a lead role in developing bio-industries in Canada and around the world.
This project is financially supported by Alberta Advanced Education and Technology’s Unleashing Innovation Program, and Alberta Agriculture and Food. Industry partners include Naturally Advanced Technologies and AT Plastics.
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The Alberta Research Council delivers innovative science and technology solutions that meet the priorities of industry and government in Alberta and beyond. Established in 1921, ARC is wholly-owned by the Government of Alberta and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation. ARC operates in five facilities throughout Alberta, serving the energy, life sciences (including agriculture, environment, forestry, and health and wellness) and manufacturing sectors.
For more information please contact:
John Wolodko
Program Leader, Polymers and Composites
Alberta Research Council Inc.
250 Karl Clark Road
Edmonton, AB, T6N 1E4
Phone : (780) 450-5407
Steve Hogle
VP Communications and Public Affairs
Alberta Research Council Inc.
Phone : (780) 450-5050