At the request of producers of European Flax and Hemp, players in the textile industry, and leading brands, the Alliance commits to growing and co-constructing a local Hemp industry with a pragmatic and ambitious mindset.
Find out the latest news about the project on our website in the dedicated article
The Alliance is working in partnership with Valbiom, the Wallonia-based association for sustainable solutions in a bio-based economy, as part of the Hemp4Circularity project. 11 multidisciplinary* and 5 associated partners** have come together to create one circular and local long fibre textile Hemp industry. Officially launched on 6 and 7 June 2023, this three-year project is supported by the European Union as part of the Interreg project (the North-West-Europe European Territorial Cooperation programme) with a total budget of €3,800,000.
*11 multidisciplinary partners: Belgium( FTILaB+, HOGENT, Hyler, Inagro, Libeco, Valbiom ) - France (Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp, Lin et Chanvre Bio, Safilin) - Netherlands (Delphy, Van de Bilt) - Germany (Natuvalis)
**5 associated partners: BAFA, Bioeconomy for Change, EIHA, ETP, HEMPAGE
At its General Assembly in late 2022, the Alliance unveiled the work of its representatives (16 elected directors for Linen & Hemp) on a new name and 3 strategic pillars:
In this context, the Alliance commits to supporting the Hemp textile industry in designing a collective roadmap in line with current developments in industrial European Hemp (seeds, shives and technical fibres with 21,700 ha of Hemp for all uses in France in 2022, including about 10% for textile markets, and 55,000 ha for all uses in the EU) in the context of China’s leadership in textile Hemp (12,000 ha textile Hemp in 2021 for a total of 65,000 ha for all uses).
When speaking of sustainable textile, hemp may be the fibre of the future. Diving into its potential, the Hemp4Circularity NWE Interreg project is conducting hemp cultivation and processing trials. The first results highlight the challenges and opportunities of this innovative fibre for the industrial textile value chain within the NWE region.
Two varieties of hemp, USO31 and Santhica27 were used as trial crops, in Wallonia and Flanders in Belgium, as well as in The Netherlands and Germany. Three hectares were sown per region. Even though the crops grew well, challenges were encountered in the harvesting phase. Initially scheduled to start the first week of August, the harvest was delayed due to the extreme wet weather conditions during the summer of 2023.
Several consequences were encountered due to the late harvest: greater stem length implied larger swaths, particularly in Germany, causing difficulties in turning and baling the hemp. Due to the late harvest caused by the bad weather, the straw was not sufficiently dry when baled in Belgium, leading to difficulties during the scutching process.
The harvest conditions may be challenging -and have already proven to be- for the next stages of hemp processing. Each stage has an impact on the following steps of hemp processing. For example, a difficult turning of the hemp straw will make baling and scutching more complicated. Therefore, every step plays a crucial role in achieving high quality long fibre, both in terms of quality and yield.
Scutching trials were conducted by Van de Bilt. Over the past few years, the flax fibre processing unit Van de Bilt gained experience in processing hemp on the flax scutching line, highlighting the differences between flax and hemp fibres and thus their difference in processing needs.
As encountered with flax, hemp straw moisture has a high impact on the scutching phase. A main concern is moisture during hemp baling and water infiltration during hemp straw storage. When moisture levels of the hemp straw reach 15% or higher, several difficulties are met, complicating the scutching process: loss of fibre, blockages (especially in the outlet of the short fibre), delays in the processing capacity… all of which impact the processing cost.
Additionally, water infiltration can prevent the processing of certain bales, resulting in additional costs to dispose them.
Despite the challenging conditions, the scutching stage already gave valuable information about the potential of textile hemp. The yield is encouraging, with straw yield averaging 6 tonnes/ha, of which 16.7 % was long fibre. However, a wide variation was observed depending on the field, ranging from 2,4 % to 26 % of long fibre. One explanation of that variation can be found among other in the moisture content of the hemp bales, which influence long fibre yield and scutching capacity.
Through the cultivation and scutching results, the Hemp4Circularity partners are now looking at developing a better understanding of the influence of the weather, cultivation and harvest conditions on the yields and quality of hemp straw and long fibre.
Interested in textile hemp? Check the project’s latest news and training sessions.
The project aims to lay out a circular value chain for hemp as a high-value textile material by 2027, rooted in the North-West Europe flax processing industry. The objective is to integrate and match all actors throughout the value chain, i.e. local agriculture, ‘like flax’ primary processing, downstream processing, as well as mechanical fibre recycling, and to raise awareness among designers and consumers about hemp textiles.
Press release - July 2024
Textile hemp has made remarkable progress in recent years, including through the development of hemp harvesters for the textile sector. In 2023, the Hemp4Circularity project set up several field trials. In Belgium, Inagro and Valbiom monitored hemp fields, while Van de Bilt did so in The Netherlands and Natuvalis in Germany. Meanwhile, HOGENT conducted experiments to assess the impact of early and late harvesting on straw and fibre yield.
Partners Inagro, Valbiom, Natuvalis and Van de Bilt each followed a hemp field from sowing to baling. The plants were closely monitored to gain insight into the growth of hemp. All fields were sown during the usual sowing window for hemp (end of April-mid May).
Two factors seem to have played an important role in the growth of the plants: soil compaction, and harvest time
First, soil compaction appears to significantly affects hemp development and growth. Plants measured less than 1 metre in height just before harvest, compared to the usual 2 metres. Tuber crops like chicory or potato, harvested in wet conditions, can negatively impact the soil, affecting following crops such as hemp.
A late harvest also had a significant impact on the results. Wet weather conditions delayed the harvest in all fields in Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. Hemp for textile applications is typically harvested at the 50% flowering stage. An early hemp variety flowers by the end of July, with the ideal harvest time being the first week of August. In 2023, harvesting was only possible in the third week of August. Because of this, the plants were larger, making harvesting difficult.
In 2023, partner HOGENT conducted field trials to assess the impact of harvesting at different stages, other than 50% flowering. Although the literature suggests that the best time to harvest textile hemp is during the flowering stage, this is not always possible due to adverse weather conditions or limited availability of harvesting machines. Therefore, it would be beneficial to explore a broader harvest time range.
To do so, a field trial on harvest time was set up at the Bottelare experimental farm of HOGENT. To conduct this study, an early variety, Santhica 27, and a late variety, Santhica 70, were chosen. The early variety was harvested at three different times: at 50% flowering, at seed formation, and at maturity. The late variety was harvested at two different times: before flowering and at 50% flowering. Fibre yield and quality of both varieties at different times were analysed to evaluate the influence of harvest time on both parameters.
Results show that harvesting earlier than the 50% flowering stage (i.e. pre-flowering) leads to significant yield losses in biomass and bast fiber yield, but not for long fiber yield. On the other hand, harvesting in a later stage than 50% flowering (i.e. at seed formation or seed maturation) does not show significant yield differences, but the quality of the fibers appears to be of lower, mainly coarser.
Overall, the optimal combination of both fiber yield and fiber quality is only achieved when harvesting at 50% flowering stage. However, harvesting a late cultivar in the pre-flowering stage may be a viable option. The trial will be repeated in 2024 to further clarify those findings.
In 2024, Hemp4Circularity will continue monitoring hemp fields. The year has already presented an atypical spring. Although most hemp being sown during the normal sowing window, temperatures were chilly and precipitation levels were high in some regions. As a result, hemp germination was difficult and slow.
For example, typically, 30 days after sowing, plants are expected to reach a height of approximately 60-80 cm. This year, however, in certain fields, plants have only reached heights of 20-25 cm. However, there is room for optimism as as we anticipate higher temperatures that will accelerate development. Straw and fiber yields will be closely monitored throughout the season.
Hemp4Circularity is a North-West Europe Interreg project conducted by 11 partners, from 4 countries: France, The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium (Wallonia and Flanders).
Interested in growing long-fibre hemp? Check out the latest news and training sessions on the project.
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