In the latest of a series of growth initiatives, venture capital company Labat Africa plans to jointly produce cannabis and hemp with the CSIR at a CSIR facility in Coega.
Brian van Rooyen, Labat’s group chief executive, says the agreement will solidify collaboration and cooperation between CSIR and Labat across the value chain of cannabis and hemp production for industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to textiles to energy.
“It is really about the CSIR wanting to commercialise medicinal cannabis and getting some traction in the industrial side of hemp production and processing. The partnership is collaborative and serves to benefit both parties,” he said.
The agreement makes provision for the use, upgrade and expansion of the CSIR Coega hemp-processing facility, the acceleration of hemp biomass and waste into energy applications in KwaZulu-Natal as well as for the beneficiation of biocomposites and biopolymers that will be applied in the automotive, textile, construction and packaging industries.
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