Living Canvas: Scaling Hemp-Based Carbon-Sequestering Building Systems
Opportunity for
- Seed and early-stage investors
- Strategic manufacturing and infrastructure partners to scale panel production
- Property developers and builders for early commercial deployment projects
- Research and technical partners to support advanced product testing and compliance
- Agrifood processors and hemp growers seeking high-value downstream mark
Opportunity description
Industry challenge
The construction sector remains one of the largest contributors to global emissions, driven by carbon-intensive materials such as concrete, steel and synthetic insulation. As energy efficiency standards under the National Construction Code continue to tighten, developers and builders are under increasing pressure to reduce embodied carbon while maintaining cost certainty and constructability.
At the same time, Australia’s industrial hemp industry lacks consistent, high-value end markets for hemp hurd. Much of this by-product is currently directed toward low-margin uses such as animal bedding, limiting both agricultural value creation and the opportunity to store carbon in long-life applications.
There is a growing need for scalable solutions that reduce emissions in the built environment while creating viable regional supply chains that link agriculture and construction.
Current opportunity
Living Canvas has developed a hemp-based structural insulated panel system using hemp hurd combined with a lime-based binder to create high-performance, prefabricated building panels. The system is designed to deliver strong thermal performance aligned with increasing NCC requirements, improved air tightness and condensation management, acoustic performance, and natural mould resistance due to the alkalinity of the material. The panels also store carbon within the building fabric for the life of the structure.
Pilot builds have been completed and the business has approximately $20 million in projects currently in pre-contract discussions. A manufacturing facility in Coffs Harbour is planned, with capacity to deliver panels for approximately 50 homes per year, alongside expansion plans into the Liverpool Plains region and Victoria.
Living Canvas is seeking capital and strategic partnerships to establish and scale manufacturing capability, unlock matched government grant funding, complete advanced compliance testing required for larger building classifications, accelerate commercial deployment, and develop regional hemp supply chains. This represents an early commercial-stage opportunity positioned at the intersection of construction, carbon and agrifood infrastructure.
Opportunity background
Living Canvas is currently bootstrapped and is finalising initial investment commitments, pursuing co-funded government grant programs, and engaging architects, councils and commercial partners on upcoming projects.
The model is designed for regional scale, linking local hemp production with local manufacturing and construction delivery, with the ambition to expand nationally as manufacturing capacity increases.
Potential other applications
Beyond residential construction, the panel system has potential application in social and affordable housing, education and community infrastructure, modular and temporary buildings, and regional or remote construction where energy performance and material efficiency are critical.
As production scales, additional product streams may include wall and roof assemblies, insulation and infill systems, retrofit applications and components integrated into broader prefabrication platforms. Over time, the underlying hemp-based materials and supply chain model may extend into wider climate-aligned infrastructure markets, including potential export pathways.