Empire State Development Awards $250,000 to Advance RPI’s Seed to City Initiative

September 14, 2026

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Seed to City Initiative has been selected for a $250,000 award from Empire State Development (ESD), marking a significant step forward in New York State’s push to grow a resilient, innovation‑driven bioeconomy. The award, titled “RPI Seed to City Initiative Working Capital,” supports two major efforts that together strengthen the emerging Hemp Fiber industry and accelerate the development of next‑generation sustainable building materials. RPI received this grant as a collaboration between CASE led by Alexandros Tsamis, Director of CASE and Associate Professor of Architecture, and RPI Mechanical Engineering led by Dr. Dan Walczyk, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Director of the RPI New York Fashion Innovation Center.

Half of the award is dedicated to a comprehensive technoeconomic analysis of the Hemp Fiber sector in New York State. This work will examine supply–demand dynamics, evaluate current and future production capacities, and identify gaps and opportunities across the value chain. This effort positions New York to understand not only the feasibility of a Hemp Fiber industry, but the scale of infrastructure needed to support it. The second half of the funding supports expanded R&D on RPI’s Hemp‑reinforced composite materials, with a specific focus on the manufacturing pathway for CASE’s Hemp‑based retrofit siding technology. 

This research centers on optimizing production rate, manufacturing efficiency, and quality control protocols, ensuring that the siding and its raw materials can be produced reliably, at scale, and with performance characteristics suitable for the building industry. The research also aims to accelerate commercialization of Hemp‑based sustainable building products that can reduce carbon emissions and support New York’s climate goals. Together, these efforts strengthen the Seed to City Initiative’s mission: building a circular, New York‑based ecosystem that connects agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and low‑carbon construction.

*Image 1 (Left): Hemp siding panels, prototype created by Mohammed Intishar Nur and Fanghong Xu

*Image 2 (Right): Diagram of hemp supply chain study in NYS by Gnel Yeghiazaryan

Media Contact:

Kathie Brill, Program Manager

Brillk@rpi.edu