Hemp Bio Composites - How government and high tech can help the industrial hemp industry
The Manitoba Composites Innovation Centre (CIC) received an additional $6.6M funding boost from the Canadian government. Much of the spending will be earmarked for the CIC's new bio composites lab. This lab, specifically researches molding and pressing techniques using straw, flax and hemp.
Funded by the national Canadian government, regional governemnt and Canadian composite technology businesses, the fact that this latest round formalizes the creation of a bio composites lab should not be overlooked. The CIC has a decent track record of commercial cooperation and has cleverly teamed-up, rather than competed with the potentially overlapping (and much larger) National Research Council of Canada (NRC). In 2004, the CIC signed a memorandum of understanding with the NRC to cooperate in composites, particularly aerospace composites...the primary focus area of the NRC's compsites effort.
Manitoba is the example to watch...they are clearly laying down a smart, well-orchestrated, demand-creation strategy. Ultimately, entities like the CIC create frutiful symbiotic dependencies...In this case, between hemp famers and Canada's composites industry.