FRD-CODEM has been involved in the activities of the Hemp European Hub since the project’s preliminary phase in 2018. Pierre Bono, Director of FRD-CODEM, and Estelle Delangle, Director of the Hemp European Hub, share their vision for the future of this collaboration following the foundation of the SCIC Hemp European Hub.
A long-standing partnership
ED : What is FRD-CODEM’s place in the Hemp European Hub today? Why did you decide to continue the adventure once the project was over?
PB : FRD-CODEM est un Centre de Ressources Technologique (CRT) dédié aux écomatériaux et matériaux biosourcés. Historically, over 50% of our business has been focused on hemp applications (textiles, construction, transport, cosmetics, etc.). Over the past 15 years, we’ve been working to support our shareholders in the hemp industry (La Chanvrière and Interval/Eurochanvre), the 2nd and 3rd transformation sectors (APM in plastics, and Ecotechnilin in composites), and the industry with InterChanvre and Construire Chanvre, and all their members, who are doing a remarkable job in developing our sectors. We have piloted over 35 collaborative projects involving more than a hundred partners and a budget of €60 million.
But for FRD-CODEM, it’s clear that the development of the hemp industry depends on the ability to massively and simultaneously valorize all the components of the plant (seed & straw), in a 360° vision.
This requires the ability to network all the players in the value chain in an upstream-downstream dialogue, to enable industrial players to seize the structural advantages of hemp, which vary from one sector to another. We have effectively tested this approach as part of the Sinfoni future investment project interest club, which regularly brought together over 150 players between 2012 and 2017.
That’s why our CRT, has been involved since 2019 in the prefiguration work for an inter-player and inter-industry dialogue tool dedicated to hemp. The values of cooperation, listening, co-development… are key for us in this context. Success will only come from collective intelligence and 4-handed construction.
It was only natural that FRD-CODEM became a member of the SCIC Hemp European Hub at the end of 2023. The status of a cooperative society of collective interest is consistent with the values established during the four years of preparation. We are very sensitive to the company’s desire to maintain close ties with the industry’s long-standing players, while respecting everyone involved.
PB: FRD-CODEM has been involved in the European Hemp Cluster since the prefiguration phase. What was his contribution? What are your expectations for the future?
ED: FRD-CODEM has been a partner of the Hemp European Hub since the early stages of the project. He is a long-standing companion whose expertise has been expressed at several levels, since you have led both our Plastics and Composites technical group, as well as the reflection on the development of RDI in hemp, and participated in numerous groups (building technology, textiles…). Finally, FRD-CODEM has been heavily involved in structuring the Hemp European Hub, first as a preliminary association and then as a SCIC (cooperative society of collective interest), sharing its experience and playing an active role in decisions shaping the Hub.
The Hemp European Hub has everything to gain from being able to continue to rely on the expertise of the FRD-CODEM teams, both technically, of course, but also in terms of their shared desire to move towards mass production, processing, and use of hemp here in the region and beyond.
CThis vision of regional development and global ambition, achieved through collective intelligence and the mobilization of dynamic forces, is strongly shared by our organizations. We are counting on FRD-CODEM to continue its role as ambassador for the Hemp European Hub, a role it has played since the Hub was created and which is extremely valuable to us.
A mutual contribution
ED: What expertise does FRD-CODEM bring to the Hemp European Hub?
PB : De manière triviale FRD-CODEM amène son expertise de centre technique, à savoir sa capacité à jouer le rôle de traducteur entre le monde de l’industrie et de la recherche, le monde de l’aval matériaux et de l’amont agricole, le monde du temps court et du résultat et le monde du temps long dont a besoin la recherche.
More broadly, FRD-CODEM brings :
- Strategic vision based on knowledge of markets, regulations, value chains, remaining technological barriers and key players
- Its operational knowledge of the issues and its ability to make the most of our 2 technical platforms dedicated to fiber preparation, and their textile/plasturgy/composite/concrete/panels/insulation recovery… mobilizing €6 million of equipment over 3,000 m².
- A multi-disciplinary team of 20 employees capable of answering all your questions, from hemp harvesting to the end-of-life of its applications.
- His working methods and experience
PB: From your point of view, what does the Hemp European Hub offer that cannot be found elsewhere? What is the Hub’s originality and added value today?
ED: The Hemp European Hub is a large, cross-disciplinary community that brings together a wide variety of players in the hemp ecosystem, from upstream agriculture to downstream processing, in a cooperative approach. We deal with the complexity of the hemp ecosystem using a global approach, trying to break down the silos between the different sectors in order to take a systemic approach to all the actions required. The Hemp European Hub is unique in that it brings together stakeholders who are committed to a common goal, despite (or perhaps because of) their diverse interests.
This 360° approach, cross-disciplinary nature, and sectoral and territorial openness enable ecosystemic cooperation between all players in the hemp industry. As a result, they benefit from solid, diversified expertise across all hemp value chains, from upstream agriculture to all its application markets. It is this expertise that we are then able to share by supporting other territories or other groups in hemp-related development projects.
An international position
ED: You have dual regional roots in the Grand Est and Hauts-de-France regions, and beyond that, you have a national reach with an international focus. How can your participation in the Hemp European Hub contribute to your international expansion? Conversely, how can this deployment contribute to the European ambition of the company?
PB : The global hemp landscape has changed radically over the last 5 years, as the news regularly shows. The playing field is international and at least national. We need to change our paradigm by deploying our solutions not just for our shareholders, but for the French industry as a whole, by meeting its needs first and foremost, in order to gain the legitimacy and credibility we need to expand and gain international recognition for our expertise. This vision cannot be deployed alone. We need allies, particularly in our 4FM partnership laboratory with UMR FARE INRAE – URCA in Reims, to offer even more robust solutions. But also to raise awareness of our expertise internationally, particularly in connection with the Hemp European Hub or InterChanvre, specifically.
PB: What are the major issues that the Hemp European Hub needs to address in order to be useful to the region and position itself as a benchmark at the European level?
ED: We feel it’s essential to showcase the region in which we’re based, both locally (Aube) and regionally (Grand Est). Our region is by far the benchmark for hemp cultivation. Its history and precedence make it a real demonstrator of the possibilities of the hemp ecosystem through the development of economic and tourism projects based around hemp. It’s a wonderful playground for experimenting with new ways of adding value to hemp.
Beyond this “playground”, sharing our experience and the expertise of our members, openness and European cooperation enable us not only to position the region as a European reference for hemp, but also to deploy our innovations and projects in other regions of France, Europe and the world.
