Innovation Anthology #263:
Since World War Two, hemp has been eclipsed by the development of petroleum based materials.
But now hemp is making a comeback as an environment friendly industrial material.
According to Dr. John Wolodko, the Alberta Research Council has developed a new technology to separate hemp fibres from the plant. And it is having great success in substituting hemp for glass in fiberglass.
One potential application is the production of automotive parts.
DR. JOHN WOLODKO: We’ve been working with a company out of Calgary called Motive Industries who are developing prototype cars for electric vehicles for example. And, of course, the big advantage with the hemp materials is that is very light weight compared to fiberglass. So it offers an incredible value in terms of energy savings, as well as reducing the weight of the vehicle, which is of paramount importance for increasing that kind of driving distance for electric vehicles. So, it’s a very good fit.
Dr. Wolodko says the Alberta Research Council is also working with a boat manufacturer in the Okanogan to produce fiberglass boats using hemp.
Thanks today to The Alberta Research Council.
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I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
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Alberta Research Council
Established as the first provincial research organization in Canada, the Alberta Research Council is 85 years old. The Alberta Research Council (ARC) develops and commercializes technologies to give customers a competitive advantage. A leader in innovation, ARC provides solutions globally to the energy, life sciences, agriculture, environment, forestry and manufacturing sectors.
ARC performs about five per cent of the roughly $1.5 billion in R&D done in Alberta each year, and generates revenues of approximately $84 million per year. ARC operates from five sites across the province in Edmonton, Calgary, Vegreville and Devon and employs more than 600 highly-skilled people.
In January 2010, under the new Alberta Innovation Framework, the Alberta Research Council was restructured and incorporated into the new provincial agency Alberta Innovates Technology Futures.
Program Date: 2009-10-22