Prospects for the development of US hemp construction

The possibilities of fibrous plant processors in the United States are predetermined for an extremely short period of time to significantly increase the use of hemp raw materials as a building material.

The booming primary and downstream hemp fiber market in the United States will clearly generate substantial volumes of raw materials for biofuels , composites, and light industry materials. However, I would like to pay special attention to the construction industry associated with the use of hemp raw materials, which has grown rapidly in the United States in 2022 and is predicted by American hemp market analysts to grow exponentially in 2023.

This kind of rapid growth of the US hemp construction market is due to a number of factors:

- a combination of regulatory and legal regulation and proven international technologies;

- the attention of government officials and society to the sustainable development of technologies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions and, accordingly, the production of environmentally friendly hemp building materials. In particular, in 2023, it is expected to increase state support for the development and production of hemp products intended for use in the construction industry from various government initiatives, especially within the framework of the new federal direction for the development of the country, based on solutions related to the use of end products made from natural raw materials.

Federally Initiated Support for the Use of Hemp Building Materials

The political environment that has been formed in the past few years in the US is favorable for the widespread use of hemp building materials , including a number of regulations that provide opportunities for funding hemp construction, for example, through the federal Clean & Green and Resilient programs. Retrofit ". In particular, the above programs encourage the use of sustainable building materials with a low carbon content.

In addition, there are programs from the USDA that prioritizes suppliers of bio-based building materials in federal procurement. In particular, in 2022, the HempWood company (Kentucky) received the status of " BioPreferred " - a product made using bioproducts .

The Department of Energy is also encouraging the production of hemp building materials through the funding of several federal programs. For example, researchers at the University of Texas received $3.7 million from the US Department of Energy to study and develop 3D-printed hemp-based building materials. Hemp block company “ Earth Merchant received funding from the Department of Energy and $100,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to form the Ology hemp block system . Hempitecture company Inc received a two-year fellowship at the Department of Energy Laboratory at Oak Ridge to develop US-grown hemp insulation to commercialize the industrial production of this product at their newly built facility.

The IMPEL Incubation Program funded by the US Department of Energy Building Technology Administration and implemented by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory supported HemProtector ( Colorado) and Gaia Blocks ” (Indianapolis) specializing in the production of hemp building materials in order to develop new competitive products that are in demand in the market and“ Okom wrks labs ” developing hemp mycelium carrier material.

US administrative-territorial units are struggling with CO 2 emissions appearing during the “new construction”

Individual states and major US municipalities are cracking down on building practices and materials that generate high carbon emissions from construction or structural materials. For example, California passed a law requiring the carbon footprint of newly built buildings to be reduced by 40% by 2050. The states of New York and New Jersey have also adopted regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for new construction, as have the cities of New York or York, Pennsylvania.

Hemp building materials can absorb tons of carbon already inside a building, reducing greenhouse gases to low or even zero carbon levels. Voluntary carbon credits and rebates can also play a role in making hemp buildings more attractive and affordable for both consumers and construction companies. Therefore, part of the municipal programs is also aimed at using hemp raw materials for the production of building materials in order to reduce CO 2 emissions , as well as “binding” the maximum amount of carbon dioxide in structures that have already been built.

U.S. Building Code Changes

A significant development in the US hemp industry was the certification of hemp building materials at the end of 2022 in the country's housing building codes. For example, hemp concrete has been approved by the International Standards Council as acceptable insulation in the annex to the International Housing Codes. According to industry experts, this fact "will make it easier for building departments to review plans for issuing permits for the use of hemp concrete, which prescribes prescriptive guidance for a sustainable wall infill option."

The above Annex allows the use of hemp concrete during the construction of one- and two-story buildings in areas with low seismic hazard allowing construction without mandatory engineering work, while high-risk areas require engineering design.

Prospects for the use of hemp raw materials

Hemp concrete is made from lime mixed with fire and water. During the primary processing of the fibrous part of the hemp plant, the output of the fire is from 50 to 70%, the long fiber is about 20% (used primarily for the production of textiles, knitwear and twisted products) and short technical fibers, which are mainly used for the manufacture of non-woven materials . About 8% of primary processing products are dust or microfibers , which are effectively used for the production of plasters, putties or other building mixtures.

Hemp fibers have been actively used in Europe for the manufacture of insulating materials over the past 30 years. Therefore, the various values of hemp insulation materials, thermal mass, fire resistance and mold resistance have already been tested and determined. This predetermines the ability of processors of the fibrous part of the plant in the United States over an extremely short period of time to significantly increase the volume of use of hemp raw materials as a building material. In addition, Europeans have already developed and are awaiting licensing of other building materials, such as hemp acoustic panels, felt and blown hemp insulation, drywall , fibreboard, structurally insulated (SIP) panels, and fire blocks .

Block hemp construction

In 2023, American hemp block companies will “launch” in Colorado (“ Hemp and Block " and " Hemp building Company ”), Washington (“ Earth Merchant ”), Indiana (“ GaiaBloc ”), California (“DTE Materials ”). Most likely, several international companies for the production of hemp blocks will appear in the United States this year. For example, the Canadian company DiVita Blocks is actively pursuing efforts to launch sales of its products in California, South Carolina and several other US jurisdictions by franchising a block system that fits between the studs of a house frame. Among European companies that are eyeing the US hemp block market, there are efforts in this direction by employees of the French HempBLOCK International ” and the Belgian block manufacturer “ IsoHemp ”.

Hemp innovation in the US for the construction industry

Separate ideas for the use of hemp raw materials are currently under research and development, which can be implemented as early as 2023:

- load-bearing bricks made of biocomposite using hemp as a filler;

- foam concrete made using hemp raw materials, produced using quick-setting magnesium oxide instead of lime;

- panel modular hemp houses made of hemp for ecotourism;

- “continuous insulation” made of hemp fiber to replace foam sheets or extruded styrofoam ;

- OSB or fibreboard, made on the basis of hemp fires;

- hemp + plastic waste, as a facing or flooring material;

- cultivated hemp-mycelial construction products.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”

It is difficult to find a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and regenerative building material that has not only a thousand-year history of use, but also exclusive characteristics that are effectively exploited in modern construction. The superpowers of a fast-growing agricultural crop to capture carbon in a natural way fit into the global climate goals proclaimed by the international community at the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in 2022. The resolutions adopted at it mainly concerned the huge carbon footprint that the construction industry creates (about 38 % of greenhouse gases are generated as a result of construction; in a number of countries around the world, about 25% of landfills are filled exclusively with construction waste).

Hemp is a cleaner, healthier, recyclable building material that captures carbon through photosynthesis as it grows and then “traps” it for years inside building walls, floors and ceilings. In this way, building materials made from hemp raw materials can transform the building industry from a major source of greenhouse gas emissions into a CO2 reduction solution . Most likely, just like in the USA , entrepreneurs of our country, whose capacities specialize in the primary processing of the fibrous part of technical hemp, need to pay special attention to the use of various components of the plant in the modern construction industry of Ukraine.

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