British investment firm Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) has purchased a 30 percent stake in Hemcore Ltd. LCA, listed on London’s Stock Exchange’s AIM in 2006, has invested millions in green businesses in four sectors: clean energy, cleaner fuels, energy efficiency, and buildings. These investments allow the company to promote green practices in commerce while still turning a projected profit of 30 percent on the internal rate of return. Hemcore is Britain’s largest producer of hemp, which is sold as horse bedding and as a substitute for synthetic and glass fibers in car interiors.
With LCA’s financial injection, Hemcore is building a manufacturing plant to produce a natural-fiber insulation under the Breathe brand name as well as a concrete-like product called Hemcrete. Though not structural, Hemcrete can be cast in situ as a wall covering (shown), flooring, or roof insulation. Hemcore estimates that in a typical family home, 30–45 metric tons of carbon dioxide is absorbed by the hemp used to make Hemcrete. Captured in the building, the carbon dioxide actually improves the insulation’s performance instead of polluting the atmosphere.