Green future with carbon-negative cultivation
Plans are underway to build the world's first carbon-negative cannabis cultivation facility in the UK. Glass Pharms, which cultivates for the UK medicines market, is set to receive a multi-billion pound investment to develop the world's first dedicated medical cannabis cultivation facility that's going to be carbon-negative.
The future is all about going greener!
The investment into Glass Pharms is reportedly worth £22.5m for building a new top-notch cannabis cultivation facility. It's the most significant infrastructure investment into a medical cannabis facility so far in the UK, demonstrating real confidence that medical cannabis has a bright, sustainable future in the UK.
With 2.5 hectares in size, the new cannabis cultivation facility is planned to be built in the South of England. An anaerobic digestion plant that converts food waste into electricity will power the facility. Hot water from the plants will be utilised for regulating the greenhouse temperature. Glass Pharms will be accredited to verify the facility status as carbon neutral.
Most of the cannabis medicines currently supplied to UK patients are imported, causing an inconsistent and varied supply quality. Glass Pharms have the first UK commercial license granted by the Home Office to provide THC-rich cannabis flower to other entities such as pharmaceutical companies. This allows the company to start growing medical cannabis in alignment with regulatory standards and supply UK pharmacies and clinics in the future.
"We will underpin a secure supply chain of medical cannabis to UK, whilst at the same time making a real contribution towards the UK's Net Zero targets", said in a statement Glass Pharms CEO James Duckenfield.
Traditional greenhouses are generally inefficient at preserving energy indoors. Growing to the fine tolerances set out by the pharmaceutical sector for medical cannabis flower presents a challenge in conventional greenhouses. The new generation grow facility developed by Glass Pharms will achieve those standards by employing various methods, including help from AI-based environment management systems to control a range of growing variables.
"The result will be a replicable end-product, meaning that UK medical cannabis patients will benefit from a fresh product that meets their requirements for quality with a predictable supply. We look forward to being able to supply our customers in 2022", said Duckenfield.
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Stephen Andrews
