One of Spain's most prestigious universities is leading the push for the industrial use of cannabis.

The Polytechnic University of Catalonia has created a hub with companies and research centers, in which the Generalitat (Catalan Government) participates, to promote knowledge about hemp and become a lobby for the sector.

The University has decided to fully enter the field of cannabis research for its application in the agri-food, industrial, and pharmaceutical sectors. The major step has been taken the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), one of the most prestigious universities in Spain for engineering and science studies, has created the first cannabis hub in Europe. in order to promote knowledge about the industrial uses of this plant, through collaboration with public and private companies and institutions working in the sector.

The cannabis plant has countless uses, beyond the more well-known ones, such as recreational or medicinal uses. It was once used to make sails for ships, and it can be used to manufacture paper, clothing, furniture, even houses, and produce food, cosmetics, bioplastics, oils, and so on. This is what is known as industrial hemp, whose THC (psychoactive component) percentage must not exceed 0.2% to be considered as such and, therefore, permitted for cultivation and production. Although the legal intricacies surrounding this plant continue to be so ambiguous as slippery due to the lack of clear general regulation on their use.

It is in this field of hemp that the movement will take place. Cannabis Hub which has been created, in collaboration with the company Valenveras of Barcelona, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, a public institution with 28,000 students, 9 territorial campuses of engineering, science and architecture, more than 180 degrees and an annual budget of 300 million euros, which places it among the largest in Spain and in a very prominent position in the international university rankings.

«We want to exercise leadership in research in competitive and transversal projects"We want to promote collaboration among participating partners and become the reference center for attracting talent for the application of technology in this cannabis sector," explains Jordi Berenguer, Vice-Rector for Knowledge Transfer and Innovation at the UPC, also known as BarcelonaTech.

This is not the first hub created by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. It already has experience setting up these collaborative spaces with companies from different sectors, including the 5G connected car with Seat to create an autonomous vehicle, or an artificial intelligence application for turbines with Siemens. However, this will be the first time it will establish a direct relationship with the participating entities.

At the moment, there are already 18 participants, including companies, research centers and associations. from the cannabis sector in the fields of agri-food, nutrients, pharmacy and other sectors, which have joined the Cannabis Hub, which will have a committee of experts and another scientific committee of public and private collaboration. Among them is the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA), attached to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which has a license from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Health to research with cannabis cultivation Its goal is to obtain cannabinoid varieties for the pharmaceutical industry by applying tools to improve plant genetics.

"Our purpose is create a community, an ecosystem around cannabis, of innovation, research and even at the legislative level. "Generating knowledge and generating business," explained Joan Simó, coordinator of the agri-food sector at the UPC, at the presentation of the Cannabis Hub. His diagnosis was clear: "Cannabis cultivation is extraordinary because it has tremendous potential that is understudied in many fields."

Hemp promotes sustainable development

Promote research in this field, generate knowledge, seek talent at the university for industry in the sector, foster the exchange of experiences, and also contribute to sustainable economic development. According to the UPC vice-rector, Hemp requires less water than cotton to grow, so its use reduces the ecological cost. In textile production, it is much less aggressive than eucalyptus for papermaking and can be used as concrete in construction instead of other more polluting materials.

"We want the Cannabis Hub to be a driving force for all of this. We were surprised that As soon as it was presented, it has aroused a lot of interest among companies in the sector."But the goal is to grow little by little, raise European funds, promote the industrial applications of hemp, and act as a lobby in this field, always in accordance with EU guidelines," explains Jordi Berenguer.

The Valenveras company, which collaborated with the UPC in the development of the Cannabis Hub, is dedicated to innovation in biotechnology to improve the production process of medicinal plants, including marijuana. Its head, agricultural engineer Rubén Valenzuela, considers the creation of this collaborative body between public and private companies and institutions "very positive" in what he describes as a "new era of hemp expansion."

In Valenzuela's opinion, In Spain there is a large market for industrial hemp, with companies dedicated to the production of building blocks, paper, textiles, plastics, and pharmaceuticals, to which knowledge, talent, and development can be provided to foster their growth. On the other side are university students, "privileged minds to propose new ideas" in these sectors, he says, as they are already doing in some of the challenges they have underway with the UPC: introducing drone technology to take crop readings in open fields, automating the entire traceability process from seeds to the manufacturing of hemp fiber pants, or improving analytics.

"The Cannabis Hub seeks to provide solutions to all stakeholders in the value chain through research and innovation, facilitating production and processing both technologically and through clearer and simpler regulations that allow for safe work with this plant," explain its managers.