25th July 2023
The Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping (CHCx3) is a four-year, 22-partner project, led by NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany). The research aims to help UK farmers and growers target Net Zero and build farming resilience through diversifying their arable and forage cropping. It will enable new revenue sources through a carbon marketplace and support enhanced value chains for industries such as textiles and construction.
The objectives of the project are to:
- Evaluate food, forage, and industrial cropping options with potential to enhance atmospheric carbon capture, and sequestration in the soil and crop-based products
- Optimise production of renewable biomaterials for fibre, textiles, and construction, and build value chains
- Establish a UK Knowledge Hub providing resources to support effective uptake and utilisation of crops with high carbon capture potential
- Quantify carbon removals, consistent with emerging standards for measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification
- Develop carbon insetting/offsetting platforms, achieving revenue generation for farmers and supporting corporate sustainability
Cambond’s role sits within supporting value chains for the construction industry, combining our bio-adhesive with fibres from the various crops grown by the project growers to make construction panels. By using agricultural fibres for panels, it creates a new output chain for growers, captures more carbon compared to typical construction panels and cuts back on the use of wood from trees, introducing a process that has a great environmental impact to the construction industry.
The Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping partners are: NIAB, Biorenewables Development Centre, British Hemp Alliance, Cambond, Carbon Farm Hubs, Cotswold Seeds, Crops for Energy, Dark Green Carbon, Elsoms Seeds, Energy Crops Consultancy, English Fine Cottons, FarmED, FC Palmer & Sons, National Farmers Union of England & Wales (NFU), Natural Building Systems, Northern Ireland Hemp Association, Rothamsted Research, Scottish Hemp Association, Terravesta, UK Hempcrete, University of York, Unyte Hemp.
This project is funded by Defra under the Farming Futures R&D Fund: Climate Smart Farming. It forms part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
