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Hempcrete: The green brick taking on the challenge of climate change
Hempcrete is a bio-based building material helping to power the drive to net-zero, but how can a product developed a millennia ago help tackle today’s environmental challenges? Euronews Culture gets down and dirty with a material that has Europe’s eco-conscious architects high with excitement.
It really doesn’t look like much, but hempcrete is the green building material that’s got eco-savvy homeowners and architects excited by its potential to be a sustainable alternative to environmentally expensive bricks and concrete.
It is made using a carefully calibrated mixture of hemp shiv – the dried inner core of the hemp plant – mixed with lime and water.
But although hempcrete seems like a very modern building material, it has a history stretching back over 1,500 years.
Hemp plaster from the sixth century still lines the walls of the UNESCO-designated Ellora Caves in India, and hemp mortar has been discovered in ancient Merovingian bridge abutments in France – which is fitting, as France was at the forefront of the 1980s drive to modernise hempcrete and introduce it to a new generation.
Back then, wet hempcrete was cast onsite, as concrete is today, but the challenge of getting the mixture right made it a tricky product for laypeople to use. Too much of any of the three ingredients could make the material runny and weak, while not enough could cause crumbling.
Its drying time also posed problems. In fair conditions, cast hempcrete can take between four and six weeks to cure. But a cold damp winter could slow the process to at least six months, restricting its mass use across northern Europe.
Impeccable environmental credentials
Despite the challenges, hempcrete’s undeniable environmental credentials have meant it was a case of when, rather than if, it would muscle its way into the mainstream building trade.
Liam Donohoe, chief operating officer at UK Hempcrete – a Derbyshire-based company designing and supplying materials to building projects using hempcrete – tells Euronews Culture that sustainability plays a part in every area of the product’s development.
“Hemp, unlike conventional crops, doesn’t require a lot of fertilisers or pesticides to protect it as it grows. The type of fibrous hemp usually used in construction is a tall plant that grows quickly and so can be cropped and planted quite close together, naturally suppressing weeds,” he says.
“I’m not saying it takes no energy to produce hempcrete, it does. But when you compare it to man-made insulation and wall infills, it has an unlimited life span and the primary ingredient is a renewable crop that costs a lot less energy and carbon to produce.”
Research and development changed everything
Experiments in France and at Belgium’s University of Leuven in the early 2000s saw researchers begin tackling the barriers preventing hempcrete from realising its full potential as a mainstream building product.
The eureka moment was the development of the hempcrete block or ‘green brick’, which took the specialist skill and guesswork out of using the material.
The lightweight fibrous block opened up a new world of possibilities for the material without diminishing any of its eco-credentials. It is free from volatile organic compounds (VOC) and indefinitely retains its acoustic, moisture absorption and thermal conductivity properties – in sharp contrast to synthetic insulation that decompresses over time to become less effective.
It is now a consistent, lightweight and reliable product that can be easily transported to sites and used by jobbing builders without extensive training.
Hempcrete versus concrete
Despite its versatility, experts are quick to dismiss comparisons between hempcrete and concrete. Concrete is a reinforced, structural building material that can support its own weight, while hempcrete is used around a frame of wood, steel or concrete. Think of it as insulation that doesn’t cost the Earth.
“When hempcrete is made into blocks, it’s strong enough to support itself, so can be used to build multi-storey buildings. There are a number of examples in the Netherlands, South Africa and France, so it’s not that you can’t build high or strong structures with it, but you need to use it around a frame,” Donohoe says.
“Researchers are working on developing a structural application for hempcrete, but that currently means usually tweaking the recipe. The sweet spot is finding something that’s very consistent, that goes onto the building site just like any other building product, without compromising too much on the carbon inputs to the recipe by using ingredients that are less sustainably produced.”
Hempcrete’s time has come
Hempcrete is proving itself to be well-suited to the radically different way many lives are lived in the post-Covid world and the desire to do more to ensure the survival of the planet.
“In the recent past people would commute to their heated offices, do a day’s work and return home to put the heating on for an hour or two in the evening,” Donohoe says.
“We don’t live like that now. Increasingly a lot of us want a nice stable healthy environment at home, because that’s where many live and work.
“Synthetic insulations, such as polyurethane and fibreglass, form a barrier between heat and cold, but they heat-up and cool down very quickly. By contrast, natural materials, such as earth, or hempcrete, are a little slower initially to heat up, but they retain their heat a lot longer – a process called ‘decrement delay’. This process suits today’s world, where people are at home a lot longer, and the heating is on more frequently during the colder months,” he adds.
Europe is setting the pace in hempcrete use
The major players in the hempcrete world hail from Europe. In the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany and Italy, hempcrete is routinely used to retrofit old buildings and form the core of new builds.
One of the biggest producers is Belgian companyIsohemp. The Fernelmont-based business has been trading since 2011 and operates in five countries.
It produces more than a million hempcrete blocks a year and claims that the projects it has worked on have saved 18,000 tonnes of C02 from the environment – that’s equivalent to the emissions produced by a patrol car circumnavigating the planet 32,000 times.
Although the UK is a few steps behind the pack, the gap is closing fast. UK Hempcrete knows of 300 to 400 houses in the UK that have been built with hempcrete and sees a bright future for the product.
“The future of hempcrete will be in prefabrication using modular methods of construction. We already have timber-framed houses largely assembled in factories, brought to the site and constructed there. There’s no reason why hempcrete houses can’t be similarly prefabricated,” Donohue says.
“In Britain, companies are building conventional family homes with hempcrete that look just like estate homes anywhere in the country, but with vastly superior eco-performance benefits.
“A focus for us is retrofitting pre-1940s housing stock. We are working with community housing cooperatives around the country who have old houses that are cold and leaky. The biggest opportunity is developing that market alongside the growing newbuild market.”
But perhaps the full potential of hemp and hempcrete has yet to be realised. BMW currently use a weight-saving hemp polymer in the door panels of its i3 electric car, while in southern Italian earthquake zones hempcrete is used as a flexible building material that can cope with Earth movement, rather than rigid, brittle concrete.
The future of hempcrete as a green building material looks assured. But with researchers working on ever more innovative ways to use it, perhaps we’ve only seen a tantalising glimpse of the difference it can make.
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By Euronews Travel
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Mount Etna, the tallest and most active volcano in Europe, erupted earlier today, sending plumes of smoke into the air.
Dramatic video footage shared on social media showed tourists fleeing down the side of the mountain as a thick volcanic cloud intensified above them.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (IGNV) said in a statement that the eruption began at 3:50 am local time following volcanic tremors that started at midnight. Volcanologists added that Mount Etna has been experiencing strombolian explosions of ‘growing intensity’. These explosions are typically a moderate kind of eruption.
A pyroclastic flow – an avalanche of hot rock, ash and gas – was seen on surveillance cameras at around 11:30 am local time. It was “probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the South-East Crater”, IGNV said.
This flow doesn’t appear to have crossed the edge of the Valle del Leone, a valley located at the foot of the summit craters on Mount Etna. But the explosive activity in the south-east crater has become a lava fountain, it added.
Mount Etna has a history of frequent eruptions dating back 3,000 years. It last erupted in February, sending a 3-kilometre river of lava flowing out of a crater called Bocca Nuova, meaning “new mouth”.
That eruption caused some minor disruption to travel, with parts of Catania airport closed due to reduced visibility.
Will flights be affected by the eruption and is Catania airport closed?
Catania airport stands at the foot of Mount Etna, giving departing and arriving passengers a spectacular view of the volcano.
Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, on the island’s east coast, is Sicily’s most popular airport with international tourists.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, France, which monitors aviation risks, issued a red aviation warning earlier today. This has since been downgraded to an orange warning, and Catania Airport remains fully operational.
Departures are happening as scheduled, with just a few arrivals from Rome, Milan, and Berlin delayed this afternoon.
Passengers are still advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before leaving home, as volcanic activity can change the situation rapidly. You can also find updated information on arrivals and departures on the Catania Airport website.
Can I claim compensation if my flight is disrupted?
If flights at Catania Airport are disrupted, airlines are required to offer you another flight or a refund if a flight is cancelled or delayed by more than three hours.
However, this is only when they could have prevented the disruption. In the case of a volcanic eruption, it is not their fault.
But in most cases, airlines will still endeavour to get passengers to their final destination.
It’s always wise to have travel insurance as you may be able to claim back for unexpected expenses.
Is it safe to visit Sicily while Mount Etna is erupting?
Yes, it is still safe to travel to Sicily, even when Mount Etna is erupting.
Local authorities and residents are used to dealing with Mount Etna eruptions. For the last five years, it has erupted multiple times a year, and tourism to Sicily has been on the rise.
Despite frequent eruptions, lava has not reached nearby towns since the 1800s. Etna has more than 200 craters, and when one of these does erupt, black volcanic ash lands in the city of Catania at its foot and the many surrounding towns and villages.
This is inconvenient for residents, but usually not a problem for visitors. Some people even purposefully climb the volcano to see an eruption, though authorities urge tourists to keep a safe distance.
The mayor of Catania in Corriere della Sera has said that “everything is normal and under control”.
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By Euronews Travel
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The hugely popular Spanish island of Ibiza has started limiting the number of tourist cars and caravans that can visit.
From 1 June to 30 September, the number of vehicles used by non-residents will be capped at 20,168.
Only 16,000 of these vehicles will be allowed to be rental cars. The other 4,108 will be for tourists who want to disembark with their cars in Ibiza from the ports of Barcelona, Denia, Valencia, or Palma.
To visit Ibiza with your car, you’ll need to get a permit, which costs €1 per day. You can check if you need to apply for this yourself or if the ferry company will handle it for you, and apply for the necessary permit via anew official website set up by the Consell de Ibiza.
Caravans now also need to show that they have a booking at a campsite. They’ll no longer be able to enter the island if they plan to wild camp or park at the side of the road.
Motorbikes are currently exempt from the seasonal restrictions on vehicles.
Why has Ibiza imposed restrictions on tourist vehicles?
The move is intended to tackle overtourism on the island, which has around 160,000 residents but receives more than 3 million tourists a year.
The number of cars on Ibiza’s roads has quadrupled over the last 20 years, rising from 51,000 in 2002 to 207,000 in 2022. It is hoped the new cap will help ease traffic problems and support more sustainable tourism on the island.
In a bid to tackle the rising anti-tourism sentiment, the island’s government has also imposed limits on cruise ship arrivals and cracked down on illegal short-term rentals.
Will other Balearic Islands also start restricting tourist vehicles?
Each year, the Balearic Islands attract around 19 million tourists – a pretty sizable portion of Spain’s 94 million annual visitors.
The Council of Mallorca is also looking to apply restrictions on tourist vehicles from next year. It is set to publish a draft law very soon and will likely introduce similar rules from summer 2026.
The President of the Council of Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has said a maximum number of vehicles will be set, with preference given to electric or non-polluting vehicles.
The small island of Formentera, around 20km south of Ibiza, already restricts the number of tourist vehicles during the summer months. Quad bikes, caravans and motorhomes aren’t allowed during this period.
From 1 June to 30 September, visitors, including those with their own vehicles or rental cars, need to apply for a permit on the Formentera Eco website.
The permit costs €6 per day, with a minimum amount of €30 regardless of how long you stay, for cars and €3 per day, with a minimum amount of €15, for motorbikes. Hybrid vehicles get a 50 per cent discount, while electric vehicles are exempt from the fee.
But, spanning only 19km from end to end, it is easy to explore Formentera without a car. Visitors can rent a bike or simply walk the island’s network of traffic-free rural paths and tracks.
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Sleeper trains are undeniably the transport of the moment right now. New routes have received a flurry of media attention, and travellers are bumping a night on the rails to the top of their bucket lists.
In fact, passenger data from France suggests night trains could continue to see record traveller numbers – if only supply could meet the demand.
According to a recent report by French climate campaign group Réseau Action Climat, the biggest challenge facing the success of sleeper services is a lack of trains.
France’s night trains see record passengers in 2024
Night trains in France are on track to be one of the country’s most popular forms of transport. 2024 was a record year for the sleeper services, with more than a million passengers using them in France.
Night trains were 76 per cent full on average, and even more than 80 per cent full on the two main routes, Paris-Toulouse and Paris-Nice.
The line between Paris and Toulouse attracted nearly 100,000 additional passengers between 2019 and 2024 (growth of 64 per cent).
Night trains are becoming an increasingly popular option with business travellers, who made up 30 per cent of users in 2023.
On the only two international lines (Paris-Vienna and Paris-Berlin), passenger numbers were also high, despite numerous delays and a three-month suspension of services in 2024.
According to a survey by the Europe on Rails collective, 72 per cent of French people would be willing to take the night train if the ticket price was acceptable and the connection available.
France is struggling to meet night train demand
While these soaring passenger numbers should be a positive sign, France’s limited fleet of trains can’t cope with the demand.
In fact, this is forcing travellers to choose alternative, often more polluting forms of transport, or cancel their trip completely, the climate group’s report found.
To relieve congestion on existing lines and open new ones, it found, France needs to expand its fleet far beyond the current 129 sleeper cars.
Plus, lines need to expand to connect cities other than Paris to other European hubs.
Night trains are a multi-beneficial solution
The report stresses that getting night trains back on the right track would have multiple benefits.
Firstly, they are an effective way of connecting rural or isolated areas with cities without requiring passengers to change mid-journey.
Although longer than flying, night trains are also a more environmentally friendly way to get between Europe’s major cities.
Of the 10 main air links from France to the rest of Europe, at least six could be made by night train (Paris-Madrid, Paris-Barcelona, Paris-Milan, Paris-Rome, Nice-London, Paris-Venice).
Choosing a sleeper service over a high-speed TGV daytime equivalent can also save you money.
The night train from Paris to Toulouse, for example, starts at nearly €30 cheaper than the TGV, and you don’t need to pay for a night in a hotel.
How France can revolutionise its night train offering
The report proposes two options for expansion with a deadline of 2035.
The less ambitious goal is to reach a fleet of 340 sleeper cars, which would allow for the reopening of lines such as Paris-Barcelona or Nice-Strasbourg.
This scenario would make it possible to transport 3.6 million passengers and save 400,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, it says.
The more ambitious proposal is to expand to 600 cars, which is the fleet size recommended by the Ministry of Transport’s 2024 report on night trains.
This would allow for the reopening of lines such as Paris-Venice or Bordeaux-Lyon, making it possible to transport 5.8 million passengers and save 800,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
By 2040, the report proposes an expansion to 1,200 cars, which would pave the way for international lines without going through Paris (e.g., Lyon-Rome, Nantes-Barcelona, Marseille-London).
These would carry 12 million passengers and save 2 million tons of CO2 equivalent.
“The record ridership in 2024 demonstrates the French people’s appetite for night trains,” Réseau Action Climat writes.
“Political will was there when it came to reversing the trend in 2020 and relaunching night lines. It is needed again today to change the scale.”
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