Hydrogen Utopia International completes cannabis harvests in North Macedonia

Hydrogen Utopia International PLC (LSE:HUI, OTCQB:HUIPF) has updated on its cannabis growing operation in Macedonia, where two harvests have been completed.

The harvests, carried out by its 49%-owned Ohrid Organics business associate, have yielded around 300 kilograms of dried cannabis flower, which is currently awaiting testing.

It comes after upgrade work on the facility, including new drying facilities, lighting systems, and solar panels. These investments are expected to cut production costs by around 30%.

Ohrid is expanding its infrastructure, including building new greenhouses to allow more frequent harvests.

The company is also advancing efforts regarding regulatory compliance, with a third-party site review recently completed, and preparations are underway for an EU GMP certification audit. These are described as a critical step towards entering the European market.

Once greenlighted, sales and export activities are set to begin. The company noted that substantial interest has already been seen from potential buyers.

“Whilst we are considering other opportunities, Ohrid Organics UK remains a very attractive option,” HUI chief executive Aleksandra Binkowska said in a statement.

“Ohrid Organics North Macedonia could be a great partner on our path of achieving our goal, namely the building of the first waste plastic to hydrogen facility.”

She added: “I have personally met with potential buyers and they were all very impressed with Ohrid Organics North Macedonia’s product.”

Ohrid is positioned as an important part of the company’s plan to develop a groundbreaking plastic-to-hydrogen facility. It noted that North Macedonia could be the location of HUI’s first waste plastic to hydrogen facility, with financing supported by Ohrid.