BASF SE's Chemovator business incubator has invested more than $200,000 in Heartland Industries Inc., a Detroit-based supplier of hemp additives used in plastics.
Heartland produces biodegradable hemp fiber and fillers that can be used in place of glass, talc and other materials for a lighter and more sustainable final product. Its Imperium masterbatch can be used in plastics, rubber, foam, paper, concrete and asphalt.
"As a result, natural fibers are now a viable market opportunity to reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions in numerous industries," the companies said in a joint news release.
Heartland says hemp can be used in high-temperatures without combusting, which makes it safe for applications, such as plastic cups and containers. It’s also non-toxic, so suitable for food contact. Its low density makes it less expensive to transport than other additives like talc.
The amount by which Heartland’s hemp fibers reduce a product’s carbon footprint depends on what polymer they are blended with, and what additives they replace, the company’s CEO and founder Jess Henry told Sustainable Plastics, a sister publication of Plastics News.
“We've seen a reduction in product carbon footprint by [over] 50 percent,” Henry said. “We will be able to share numbers for the CO2 reduction for BASF nylon applications in the coming months.”
A calculator on Heartland’s website shows that replacing talc with hemp in a 20 percent concentration in polypropylene, for example, results in a cost savings of about 12 percent, weight reduction of 14.13 percent and a 40.08 percent carbon reduction.
Through the investment, Heartland becomes Chemovator’s first portfolio company in North America and the latest addition to its Elevate program. The program aims to support early-stage start-ups in the chemical industry through monetary investment, access to BASF and its experts, as well as support from a network of experienced entrepreneurs. Its focuses areas in sustainability include CO2 reduction, use of renewable feedstock and recycling.
Heartland partners with corn, wheat, and soy farmers in the US to embed industrial hemp into their crop rotation. Through partnerships with Ravago, for example, it has engineered its hemp additives so that the final products do not require additional retooling costs for plastic compounders and molders.
The company currently processes 5 to 10 metric tons of material per hour through a contract manufacturer.
“We are currently discussing licensing agreements with other manufacturers that can produce billions of pounds per year,” Henry said.