Carbon storage potential of hemp and wood as a raw material

This very recent extensive report from nova-Institut GmbH is another piece of evidence of how vital the role of industrial hemp is in the building industry.
This study, created by Niels de Beus, Matthias Stratmann and Michael Carus investigates the carbon storage potential, including cultivation, harvesting and processing. It concludes that hemp - as a raw material for construction materials - is as efficient in storing carbon as wood.

The paper only investigates the potential of wood and hemp as raw materials for future use in the construction industry. Also, it excludes accounting for the potential CO2 release at the end of the product life.

I highly recommend reading this study. This is an important milestone, and I look forward to seeing other similar studies build on this.
You can find the full report here.

Why would I choose hemp as a raw material instead of wood?

Hemp is an annual crop; it grows to 2-4m high in 4- 6 months, and if it is not harvested and used as a raw material, it will rot and release the absorbed CO2 back into the atmosphere. On the contrary, the rotation period of wood can last 100 years, so it will lock decades of emission, and it has the potential for further storage.

Hemp blossoms later in the summer, providing plenty of pollens and nutrition. Besides that, no pesticides are needed.

Hemp can be used as a rotation crop; it slows down soil erosion. On the contrary, there are multiple scientific researches about the strong link between logging and soil erosion and a shift in the soil Carbon-dynamic.

Owing to its deep roots, it captures toxic heavy metals - I will write a different blog about that and link all the studies I found.