Using Hemp to Mimic Oak? That's Just One of the Innovative AgTech Solutions Being Dreamed Up in the Bluegrass

By Josh James

"We are helping transform our Commonwealth into the AgTech Capital of the United States, and I think that's pretty exciting," said Bob Helton, executive director of Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp.

Tuesday, Helton introduced the seven businesses chosen from dozens of applicants to receive — in total — $625,000.

One lucky applicant is Hempwood, based in Murray, Kentucky. Company president Greg Wilson says the idea behind the company is to make a sustainable building materials using hemp fibers, special bonding materials, and a process known as "bio-mimicry."

"We are mimicking the way that a oak tree grows in 80 years, using a plant that grows in four months, that sequesters carbon at the same rate," he explains.

And don't get him started on how Fibonacci sequences tie into the project.

As for the grant, it's going to mean a boost.

"This will allow us to triple the capacity of what we have for our thermal energy, tripling our ability to have output, and then tripling the amount of biotar from hemp that's going back into the soil right here in Kentucky," Wilson says.