The talk provided will give an overview and program update for the CRC-P Project Healing Australian Carbon Wounds Using Hemp Plantation and Construction.
In alignment with the global renaissance, Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has gained recognition as a valuable high biomass crop in Australia owing to its superior carbon sequestration potential (8-15 tons of CO2-e per hectare) — twice as effective as many forests. This has led to proposals to leverage hemp farming as a solution to offset carbon emissions in the Australian industry, while also exploring the hemp plant as an innovative timber alternative. The urgency is underscored by a shortage in Australia's timber supply due to increased housing demand, bushfires, and a commitment to halt deforestation by 2030.
This project aims to pioneer sustainable alternative ingredients for construction products that are formulated to express through established manufacturing technologies and innovative advanced processes. For this to be successful however, the emerging Australian industrial hemp industry necessitates substantial development of skills and knowledge, particularly in the supply chain management of cultivation and processing such that the supply chain delivers certified and consistent quality raw material as biomass or refined product and that these ingredients have an established pathway for inclusion in construction materials such that the final product complies with National Construction Code (NCC) building code requirements and product manufacturing specifications.