The Canadian province of Alberta is placing CA$3.75 million (US$2.75 million) right into a mission to scale up manufacturing of regenerated cellulose fiber from hemp, probably creating one other industrial marketplace for the province’s crop.
Edmonton-based Zylotex Inc. will use the funding from Emissions Discount Alberta (ERA) towards a CA$20.4 million mission to provide lower-emissions cellulose supplies from agricultural residues, starting with hemp bast fiber.
The mission is critical for Alberta as a result of the province is Canada’s greatest hemp producer, with cultivation overwhelmingly centered on grain for meals substances and oil. That leaves substantial portions of stalk as an underused secondary uncooked materials.
Zylotex obtained the biggest particular person award amongst 5 Edmonton-area initiatives getting a mixed CA$15.7 million from ERA by Alberta’s Expertise Innovation and Emissions Discount fund. The opposite initiatives cowl hydrogen, lower-carbon cement and applied sciences for utilizing captured carbon dioxide.
Hemp to lyocell
Zylotex is creating know-how that converts cellulose extracted from hemp into lyocell, a regenerated fiber in the identical broad household as viscose and rayon.
In contrast to typical hemp textile processing, which cleans and refines the plant’s pure bast fibers for spinning, the Zylotex course of extracts cellulose, dissolves it and regenerates it as a brand new fiber.
The ensuing materials can be utilized in woven and knitted textiles in addition to nonwovens. Zylotex has recognized geotextiles, filtration supplies, erosion-control merchandise and medical absorbents amongst potential nonwoven functions, together with composites and different superior supplies.
The Edmonton supplies know-how firm grew out of analysis into producing dissolving-grade cellulose pulp and lyocell from Alberta hemp. It’s working with Alberta-based Plantae Applied sciences on processing hemp fiber as feedstock for its system.
Alberta crop
Alberta farmers planted 6,999 hectares of hemp in 2025, greater than some other Canadian province, whereas greater than 80% of Canadian hemp fields nationally have been devoted to grain. Hemp grown particularly for fiber fell by half to simply 933 hectares.
Alberta grain hemp is primarily grown for hemp hearts and different meals, protein substances and hempseed oil. Growing markets for the remaining stalk may enhance the economics of the crop by giving growers and processors worth from each seed and fiber.
Earlier efforts
The Zylotex funding follows an earlier Alberta effort to commercialize hemp stalks from grain manufacturing.
INCA Renewtech obtained a CA$10 million (US$7.4 million) ERA grant in 2023 towards a proposed 200,000-square-foot processing plant at Vegreville that may flip hemp stalks into fiber for automotive, marine, wind-energy and consumer-product composites.
The deliberate 200,000-square-foot facility has been considerably delayed and stays listed as “proposed” in Alberta’s Main Tasks database, indicating development has not began. INCA continued improvement work in 2025, nevertheless, receiving extra provincial assist for hemp biocomposites and launching a US$42 million fundraising marketing campaign aimed toward financing a vertically built-in processing and manufacturing operation.
A CA$5 million federally backed mission at Elk Level that was to course of hemp fiber for uniforms and different textiles didn’t launch in 2025.
