This company develops and distributes Imperium, a low-carbon industrial hemp-based material additive for plastics, textiles, and construction. Imperium reduces material cost and weight while significantly lowering the carbon footprint of finished goods without requiring equipment retooling. They partner with farmers to integrate hemp into crop rotations, creating resilient, regenerative supply chains for global manufacturers.
Funding
$220K raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, but traditional plastic reinforcement additives often have high embodied carbon and can be costly. Sourcing sustainable alternatives that maintain performance without requiring significant retooling presents a major challenge.
Solution
Heartland provides carbon-negative additives made from functionalized hemp fibers that can be used to reinforce plastics, rubber, concrete, and other materials. Their Imperium line of additives and performance compounds allows manufacturers to create stronger, lighter, and less expensive products while significantly reducing their carbon footprint. Heartland's dry-fiber technology ensures product consistency in particle size, aspect ratio, surface area, and moisture content, enabling seamless integration into existing manufacturing processes without retooling costs. By partnering directly with farmers, Heartland promotes local farming and manufacturing, boosting supply chain resilience and reducing reliance on mined and synthetic materials.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes plastic compounders, manufacturers in the automotive, marine, packaging, and construction industries, and brands seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and meet sustainability mandates.
Features
- Imperium Masterbatch: Enables plastic compounders to develop decarbonized plastics with high natural fiber load rates (40%+)
- Performance Compounds: Engineered natural fiber-filled plastics that increase strength and reduce weight
- Imperium Textile Fiber: Natural fiber for fashion and fabric applications
- Carbon Report: Tool to simplify tracking CO2 emissions
- Drop-in replacement for additives like talc, calcium carbonate, fiberglass, and carbon black
- Suitable for use in plastic compounding, automotive, marine, packaging, building materials, and other industries
- USDA Grant insights into industrial hemp farming, regenerative agriculture, and carbon sequestration