The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded nearly $6.2 million in grants to the Hemp Building Institute, a Nashville-based nonprofit that works with hempcrete and other agriculture-based construction materials, Marijuana Moment reports. The grant money was awarded under a $160 million EPA funding round announced last month for projects aimed at reducing emissions and costs in construction materials and products.

The Hemp Building Institute received $6,186,200 from the feds to develop Environmental Product Declarations and Life Cycle Assessments for biogenic materials like those made from hemp or other crops like soy or straw bale, the report said. The project’s overarching goal is to essentially build credibility for hempcrete and similar materials for construction projects.

“The overall goal of the project is to assemble the assessments, protocols, tools and training in an ecosystem designed to increase adoption of biogenic building materials from agricultural crops.” — EPA description of the grant award, in the report

The Hemp Building Institute is partnering with the Maryland-based business incubator EntreVator on The Biogenic Building Materials project, which aims to “develop an open-source database for biogenic materials and provide extensive education, training, and technical assistance,” officials said. The grant money is expected to be invested in the following hemp markets: Maryland, Tennessee, California, and Alabama.

Earlier this month, a hempcrete wall product by Americhanvre Cast Hemp demonstrated commercial construction viability after receiving a one-hour fire resistance rating from ASTM International.

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