A startup building homes from hemp has secured $2 million in NSW Government funding to scale up manufacturing at a facility in Toormina, near Coffs Harbour, for what it says will be Australia’s first large-scale hemp SIP manufacturing facility.
Living Canvas received the funding through the NSW Government’s Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program to help establish a regional industrial hemp processing and prefabricated panel manufacturing facility. The new facility is intended to support regional manufacturing, create value from Australian-grown hemp, and make hemp-based construction more accessible to homeowners, architects and builders.
The funding will support the establishment and commissioning of the facility, including production equipment, factory setup, material handling and the quality systems needed to scale responsibly.
Living Canvas co-founder Harrison Marsh said the company set out to make hemp accessible in the construction industry and prove it belongs in the mainstream.
“We’re thrilled to receive this support, which will enable us to grow through the development of new plant and equipment, for Australia’s first large scale hemp SIP manufacturing facility,” Mr Marsh said.
“It marks the beginning of a significant change within the Australian construction industry, as we shift away from carbon-heavy materials and towards a biobased future.”
“It will bring jobs to regional NSW and enable our Living Canvas panels to be used on more building projects across the country. More hemp in construction doesn’t just build better homes, it supports an emerging agricultural industry for NSW.”
The Living Canvas Structural Insulated Panels are made from locally grown Australian hemp and include wall, floor and roof cassettes, offering a complete building envelope that naturally regulates heat and moisture and meets high bushfire performance ratings. The company says the panels offer a faster, better performing and healthier way to build than conventional construction.
Hemp is fast-growing and naturally fire-resistant, insulates well and requires no synthetic inputs. Hempcrete, the plant-based construction material made from hemp, sequesters more carbon than is emitted during its production and installation, making it carbon negative over its lifecycle.
The grant is also intended to create a higher-value use for hemp hurd, the woody core of the hemp plant, helping move hemp construction from a niche and experimental material toward a scalable regional supply chain connecting growers, processors, manufacturers, builders and customers.
Through its sister company Otetto, Living Canvas has also launched three architecturally designed prefabricated houses using its panels, demonstrating how hemp can support healthier, more climate-responsive homes.
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