HempKnit: Wear the future

Cotton farming requires 10,000 liters of water per kilogram of fiber, along with heavy pesticide use, leading to severe environmental damage. Industrial hemp, by contrast, demands less water (3,000 liters) and little to no pesticides. Despite its sustainability benefits, hemp has been underutilized, largely due to historical stigmatization and legal barriers rooted in its association with cannabis.

Hemp history 101

Towards the end of the 1800s hemp was shaping up to be a strong competitor to the cotton industry. Threatened by its meteoric rise, several companies - including the New York Journal and allegedly the DuPont Company - campaigned against hemp in the 1920s as a form of cannabis. The Head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a man with ties to the paper and cotton industries, later went on to introduce legislation and high taxes against hemp.

The taxes introduced costly overhead. Despite a brief resurgence in the 1940s - owing to soaring demand from the American military - U.S. hemp production struggled to compete. Eventually, it was criminalized outright under the Reagan administration. There’s no doubt that cotton has benefitted from a century-long headstart, but since its ban was lifted in 2018, the hemp industry is primed to have its day in the sun.

Hemp on the rise

Hemp can yield up to 700 kg of fiber per acre—three times more than cotton—making it an attractive crop. However, better processing is needed to improve its softness, flexibility, and water resistance, unlocking its full potential for textiles. This project will leverage enzyme technology to achieve these goals, allowing hemp to compete with more established yet less environmentally friendly fibers like cotton.

Enzyme-Driven Transformation of Hemp Fibers

Enzymes, acting as biological catalysts, can modify hemp fibers in an eco-friendly way, improving flexibility and durability without the negative impacts of chemical treatments. This project aims to make hemp fibers water-repellant, softer, and more functional, positioning hemp as a high-performance material for next-generation textiles.

Project Leadership and Collaboration

Led by Prof. Georg Gübitz, the project at the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB), in collaboration with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, will leverage state-of-the-art facilities and in-house developed enzymes to transform hemp fibers for large-scale textile use. The project aims to:

• Decompose undesirable components like lignin without affecting desirable fiber properties.
• Permanently bond functional molecules to improve flexibility, processability, and water resistance.

Advanced measurement techniques such as spectroscopy and electron microscopy will assess the modifications. These functional properties are what textile manufacturers have been waiting for, positioning hemp as a key material for next-generation textiles.

Intellectual Property

The project expects to create novel IP particularly for:

• The processing and modification of hemp fibers through enzymes
• New methods for functionalizing hemp fibers through the binding of functional molecules
• Fiber characterization techniques through the use of spectroscopy and electron microscopy (This will be very useful when scaling up the R&D and production of hemp fibers)

ACIB has agreed to the transfer of all resulting intellectual property that arises from this project to ValleyDAO. This gives the Catalyst funders the opportunity to fully utilize their governance power during the licensing and the commercialization process.

The hemp fiber market is rapidly expanding due to favorable regulations and the rising demand for sustainable products. Hemp’s ability to offer planet-friendly alternatives could make it a preferred choice in many industries if its properties were upgraded according to the goals of this project. Market projections estimate that the global hemp fiber market will grow to $55 billion by 2030, with a yearly growth rate of 22%.

The outcomes from the HempKnit project will not only provide the hemp industry with new fiber treatment and processing tools, but will also expand the use cases of hemp fibers to areas such as high-performance clothing, packaging, medical applications, and materials for automotive, aerospace, and construction industries.

Funding Proposal for Enzyme-Enhanced Hemp Fibers

To realize this project’s potential, we are seeking EUR 105,420 to facilitate the milestone goals listed below. We already have the required expertise and researchers to facilitate the scope of work and could start as early as December, depending on how quickly the project is funded on Catalyst. The terms for the IP have already been discussed and agreed upon between all parties—all we need is the funding to bring you the hemp-based solutions you’ve been waiting for!