Two hemp manufacturing plants in Alberta, Canada, will get roughly 900,000 Canadian dollars ($700,000) in public grants for improvements to expand fiber and grain processing through a joint federal-provincial program.
The companies – INCA Renewtech and Blue Sky Hemp Ventures – are building processing facilities worth more than CA$70 million each.
INCA Renewtech’s facility will make hemp fiber materials for composites manufacturing used for vehicles, renewable energy and environmental absorbance.
The Blue Sky Hemp Ventures grant will allow the company to expand hempseed oil production for use in foods and cosmetics and production of hemp protein concentrate, making it the first large-scale hemp food processing facility in the province, the government said.
Alberta produces about 40% of Canada’s total hemp output, according to Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation.
“This investment will not only increase the demand for Alberta-grown hemp, it will also create new manufacturing and processing jobs,” he said in a statement.
The grants are part of a joint federal-provincial initiative created two years ago through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
