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The project, led by the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Mechanics (CATMech) research group at UPC, aims to minimise the by-product waste in hemp cultivation through the development of a competitive industrial plant, reduce energy consumption, and increase comfort in buildings through research into innovative insulation panels in bioconstruction.
HEMPANEL will contribute to improving the energy efficiency of buildings by establishing the foundations for the future industrial development of innovative and efficient insulating panels, which will help mitigate both the causes and effects of climate change.
Hemp has garnered significant interest as a sustainable resource due to its broad spectrum of industrial applications. One of its recently investigated uses is as an insulating material in construction, where it offers significant environmental benefits, including negative CO₂ emissions and a prolonged lifecycle due to its recyclability. However, hemp cultivation generates a by-product that can represent up to 50% of the plant's total weight. This waste has been studied to add value, focusing on the production of thermo-acoustic insulating panels using recycled cardboard fibre for bio-construction.
The acoustic and thermal properties of hemp, which are comparable to or exceed those of conventional synthetic materials, make it a promising option for the sustainable construction sector. Additionally, incorporating recycled cardboard fibre as a binder further enhances its circularity properties, enabling the development of a composite biomaterial with competitive production costs and efficient manufacturing.
In this context, HEMPANEL focuses on achieving industrial manufacturing practices that minimise energy and water consumption as well as material waste, thereby reducing the carbon footprint.
The project is expected to result in the establishment of a pilot plant for the industrial manufacture of hemp-based insulating panels (utilising the by-product known as hemp-fiber) through research into innovative insulation panels that will help reduce energy consumption and increase comfort in buildings, and the creation of a new composite biomaterial using recycled cardboard fibre as a binder, which will reduce the amount of waste materials generated in hemp cultivation and contribute to the circular economy.
Specifically, the project will:
- Study the components and parameters of the pilot plant affecting the properties of the new insulating material, including mix fluidity, curing temperature, energy consumption, and water savings.
- Analyse the mechanical and insulating properties as well as the sustainability of the material produced, evaluate the pilot plant, and conduct a commercial viability study.
Budget and funding
The project has been funded through the Call for Knowledge Transfer Demonstration Activities under the PEPAC 2023-2027, by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food at the Government of Catalonia. HEMPANEL has a total budget of €49,743.25 and a duration of 28 months (February 2024 - June 2026).
Hemp insulating panel
Action under the PAC 2023-2027 Strategic Plan co-funded by:
Related Projects
- The Control, Data and Artificial Intelligence (CoDAlab) research group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is taking part in the ATHENS project, which is developing recyclable thermoplastic composite materials with advanced real-time monitoring systems to improve the manufacture, safety and service life of lightweight structures.
- The MICROTECH LAB - Microtechnology for the Industry research subgroup, part of the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Mechanics (CATMech) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), is leading the technical development of a minimally invasive platform to monitor biomarkers and physiological indicators related to stress and emotional wellbeing.
- A research team from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) has participated in the M3LEC project, coordinated by the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), with the Universidad de Sevilla (US) / Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (IMSE) also participating. M3LEC aimed to contribute to the characterisation of the Martian atmosphere and meteorology, and to investigate new instrumentation for future planetary exploration missions.
- The Interdisciplinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED) and the Energy, Catalysis, Process and Reaction Engineering (ENCORE) research group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) are participating in the European ArchiSpace project, to develop infrastructure prototypes for human settlements in extraterrestrial environments using materials and conditions analogous to those on the Moon and Mars.
