Upon harvesting, the five different strains of hemp were
compared to identify their best uses, depending on seed
and fibre yields.
The main product planned for these crops is
environmentally-friendly insulation.
This will be fitted by installers at Unyte Energy, who are
working with energy provider SSE to produce sustainable
energy solutions.
Jamie Bartley is the operations director at Unyte Hemp.
He took us on a tour of the company’s 240-acre site near
Market Harborough in Leicestershire.
Jamie explained that over 230 million hemp seeds were
planted in the first week of May. Just 140 days later the
plants were harvested and analysed to uncover their
environmental benefits.
“Hemp’s bio absorbency of CO2 can have a massive
environmental impact” Jamie explained.
“In the growth timeframe, the hemp will bio-absorb the
same amount of CO2 as a forest the same size would in 25
years.”
Although CO2 emissions in the UK have been gradually
declining for the past six years, in 2018 it was predicted that
Britain alone produced 361 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
This dangerous level can decrease wildlife populations,
increase extreme weather events and cause fertile
agricultural land to be lost.
However, planting hemp does not only cause CO2
absorption, it cleans the soil in which it is grown, soaking
up the effects of pollution without harming the plants.
The insulation binding agent, polylactic acid, can also be
produced from this year’s yield, as opposed to commonly
used sugarcane starch.
Jamie explained that although sugarcane is another
renewable biomass, it is often sourced from South East
Asia and is transported to the UK, resulting in a large
carbon footprint.
“But we can create it from hemp cultivated in the UK,
which means you also get the environmental benefits of
carbon reduction.”
As well as insulation, Unyte are working to produce a
number of hemp products that have the potential to alter
the way we live.
“We are working with universities creating a modular
hemp housing system, so that will be 100 percent derived
from hemp.”
As the project is focussed on environmentally friendly,
sustainable solutions, the team ensured that their set up is
as green as their crops.
“The site has a ten-megawatt biomass waste to energy
boiler to convert the waste into renewable energy.
“This way we can run on renewable energy and there is on
sight disposal for the flower and leaf that we can’t use