NSW: Australian Hemp Panel Maker Awarded $2M (AUS) NSW Grant

An Australian builder that casts hempcrete into prefabricated timber-frame panels has received AUD $2 million ($1.4M USD) from the New South Wales Government to build what it describes as the country’s first large-scale hemp panel plant, in Toormina, near Coffs Harbour, about 325 miles north up the coast from Sydney.

The funding comes from the state’s Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program. It is a co-contribution grant, so the company puts up a matching $2 million. The money will go to plant and manufacturing equipment, the company said.

The business has three parts. A Sydney construction company is the base. Living Canvas makes wall, floor and roof cassettes from locally grown hemp and a lime binder, and can panelize an architect’s existing plans. Otetto sells three prefab home designs built on the panels, with a fourth on the way, and has a display home open for walk-throughs. The company says the panels are carbon negative over the life of a building and are rated for bushfire zones.

“Essentially, we’re a frame and truss manufacturer that has hemp already cast into the walls,” Co-founder Chris Ball of Otteto told HempBuild Mag.

The panels are designed to be installed by carpenters. “The reason that we went to panels is familiarity,” Ball said. “No unique trades.”

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