Aurora sharpens its knives on cannabinoid extraction

Initially a medical cannabis producer, Aurora Cannabis then developed its activities for the canadian recreational cannabis market. Thanks to the growing popularity of CBD products, The company has entered into a strategic partnership with Radient Technologies, which has just obtained a license from Health Canada to extract cannabis using microwave technology, a technology which Aurora believes has the potential to «disrupt the market».

Aurora's strategy

The Aurora / Radients partnership began in 2016. Seduced by its patented technology Microwave assisted extraction process (MAP™), Aurora worked alongside Radients to help it obtain a Health Canada license for industrial-scale cannabis extraction. This collaboration now gives Aurora privileged access to Radients' technology as Allan Cleiren, an Aurora executive, will join Radients' board of directors.

At the same time, Aurora has already invested in hemp through its acquisition of AgroPro (one of Europe's largest producers of organic hemp) and its status as a majority shareholder in Hempco Food and Fiber in Canada. These investments, combined with the MAP™ technology, will enable Aurora to produce high value-added derivative products, containing cannabinoids and CBD in particular, for the wellness market.

Radients technology enables a much higher production rate than traditional extraction technologies. It also conserves full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes found in the plant, minimizing losses.

These two aspects further increase the yield and quality of Aurora's production, giving it a significant comparative advantage over its competitors. «We identified early on that the ability to extract cannabis and hemp on a large scale while preserving quality would be a crucial comparative advantage in addressing the rapidly growing market for cannabis-derived products such as e-liquids for vaporizers, gels, e-liquids and other products. edibles and beverages,» explains Aurora CEO Terry Booth.

Microwave extraction technique

Unlike the conventional solvent extraction technique which works by molecular diffusion - the molecules are separated from the plant matter by passing from one solvent to another - MAP™ technology works by pressure and extracts the active ingredients by heating the biomass directly in the solvent with microwaves. This technique is faster and gives purer results, as it does not require the changeover from one solvent to another. What's more, Radients Technologies uses only water and ethanol as solvents, so no harmful products are added.

Compared with conventional extraction techniques, including the’supercritical CO2 extraction, This technology saves both time and energy. It is already used in other sectors of the agri-food industry, but its use in the cannabis industry and on such a scale of production is new.

Radients has built extractors specially dedicated to cannabis and devotes 3/4 of its plant to cannabinoid extraction. The company has signed service agreements with other Canadian producers and has clearly taken advantage of the development of this new industry. Another a happy marriage between cannabis and technology.