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Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture
Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.
Image from: Wired
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture.
Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.
“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”
The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.
Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem.
In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".
Image from: Madar Farms
Global Challenges, Local Solutions
Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.
“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”
Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.
“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”
Image from: Agritecture
Nurturing Next-Generation Talent
To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.
Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence.
“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says.
Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.
“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”
Ensuring Singapore's Food Security Despite the Odds
As with most issues that impact national security in Singapore, it often seems that the odds are stacked against us. Food security — access to safe and nutritious food — is a challenge on several fronts. Singapore is a small city-state with limited resources, with only 1 per cent of land available for food production, and over 90 per cent of food is imported from an increasingly disrupted world. The Covid-19 pandemic has further amplified the gravity of safeguarding food security
Image from: Reuters
As with most issues that impact national security in Singapore, it often seems that the odds are stacked against us. Food security — access to safe and nutritious food — is a challenge on several fronts.
Singapore is a small city-state with limited resources, with only 1 per cent of land available for food production, and over 90 per cent of food is imported from an increasingly disrupted world. The Covid-19 pandemic has further amplified the gravity of safeguarding food security. The city-state has been proactively planning for long-term food security through the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) strategy of “three food baskets” — diversifying food sources, growing locally and growing overseas. This approach has served the Republic well in securing a supply of safe food.
DIVERSIFIED SOURCING IS KEY
Singapore’s food importers leverage the nation’s connectivity and the global free trade environment to import from multiple sources in about 170 countries and regions worldwide. Should there be a disruption to any one source, importers are able to tap alternative food sources and ensure supply remains stable. Lockdown measures brought about by Covid-19 underscored Singapore’s vulnerabilities to supply disruptions in food.
It was not by luck that the Republic’s food supply remained stable and market shelves continued to be promptly restocked — it was the result of a deliberate whole-of-government strategy to diversify food sources. To keep the nation’’s diversified food supply lines intact amid the Covid-19 global pandemic, SFA worked closely with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to monitor Singapore’s food supply situation. Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these economic agencies worked with like-minded countries to maintain open trade links.
LOCAL PRODUCTION AN IMPORTANT BUFFER
SFA drives innovation in local farms with the ambitious goal of producing 30 per cent of Singapore’s nutritional needs by 2030 as part of our “30 by 30” plan. To meet this goal, we need a holistic and long-term approach to space-planning, boosting agri-food technology and developing local agri-specialists. To facilitate and support the establishment of high-technology and productive farms in Singapore, SFA tenders out land based on qualitative criteria such as production capability, production track record, relevant experience and qualifications, innovation and sustainability.
In addition, a masterplan for the greater Lim Chu Kang (LCK) region, spanning about 390ha of land, will be undertaken in consultation with stakeholders over the next two to three years. The redeveloped LCK agri-food cluster will produce more than three times its current food production.
Building on the above efforts to grow Singapore’s high-tech agri-tech sector, SFA will continue to partner with the Economic Development Board and ESG to attract best-in-class global agri-tech companies, as well as to nurture promising homegrown agri-tech companies into local champions and help them to expand overseas.
EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE, UNDERUTILISED SPACES
Urban food solutions are expected to play a key role in global food security. While there are progressive enterprises operating out of farmlands and industrial estates, some agricultural game-changers are also taking root in unconventional areas — indoors, on rooftops and in underutilised spaces.
SFA worked with the Singapore Land Authority to introduce an urban farm at the former Henderson Secondary School site, which was transformed into Singapore’s first integrated space comprising an urban farm, childcare centre and nursing home within a state property. The farm space within the site was awarded in May 2019 to social enterprise City Sprouts, and it has become a vibrant destination for the young and old to learn about urban farming and enjoy a relaxing day out.
Citiponics, the first commercial farm located on a multi-storey car park in a residential neighbourhood, harvested its first yield of vegetables in April 2019. In September 2020, another nine sites atop multi-storey car parks were awarded for urban farming.
The successful bidders included proposals for hydroponic and vertical farming systems with a variety of innovative features, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology and automated climate control. These sites have the potential to collectively produce around 1,600 tonnes of vegetables annually.
Image from: Ciitiponics
TAPPING TECH
The Agriculture Productivity Fund (APF) supports local farms in their capability development and drive towards higher productivity. Through APF, SFA co-funds the adoption of farming systems to better control environmental variables, test-bed technologies and boost production capabilities. Between October 2014 and September 2020, a total of almost S$42 million has been committed to 115 farms.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented greater impetus to speed up local food production capacities. In September 2020, SFA awarded S$39.4 million to nine companies under the 30x30 Express Grant to quickly ramp up food-farm outputs over the next six months to two years. With advanced robotic and digital systems increasingly being used in farming, Singapore’s vegetables farmers have also become innovative agri-engineers and specialists in their own right.
With support from the 30x30 Express Grant, urban farming engineering solutions firm Indoor Farm Factory Innovation will set up an indoor vegetable farm with a vertical integration growth system up to 8m in height in a fully controlled and pesticide-free environment. The farm will leverage artificial intelligence farming systems integrated with IoT monitoring, dosing irrigation and an advanced environmental control system to achieve optimum growing conditions all year round.
Seng Choon, a chicken egg farm that has been in business for more than 30 years, has also proved itself a modernist in its operations. The company uses a computer that scans eggs to ascertain if they are clean; while feeding systems, temperature controls and waste cleaning systems have been automated with SFA’s support. Singapore’s efforts at ensuring food security would not be complete without support from consumers. To boost recognition of local produce among consumers, SFA brought the industry and public together to create a new “SG Fresh Produce” logo.
Farmers have been using this emblem on their packaging since August 2020. A website was also launched to provide a trove of information on locally farmed food. While the Covid-19 pandemic has led to import restrictions, it also helped to accelerate support for local produce. With public support for local farmers and other key measures, Singapore can beat the odds in ensuring food security in this ever-evolving, ever-disrupted world.
"If There Is A Will, It Can Go Fast"
Last year the TBM-Irisweg biomass plant in Bleiswijk was put into operation. The installation - with a capacity of 14.8 MW - is connected to the RoCa pipeline
John Ammerlaan, Plantenkwekerij Leo Ammerlaan, about biomass plant:
Last year the TBM-Irisweg biomass plant in Bleiswijk was put into operation. The installation - with a capacity of 14.8 MW - is connected to the RoCa pipeline. John Ammerlaan from Plantenkwekerij Leo Ammerlaan/Plantise is a co-owner and user of TBM-Irisweg. "The great thing is that we only purchase heat when we need it."
TBM-Irisweg is a collaboration between the Brabant company TBM and Plantenkwekerij Leo Ammerlaan/Plantise. In addition to heat, also 1.1 MW of electricity is generated in the installations by a number of steam generators.
How did the biomass plant come about?
“In 2014 we had plans for geothermal energy on the Irisweg. During the discussions about this, we got into conversation with a party with plans for biomass. So that was TPM. Initially, it was about a biomass plant in an existing location because of an existing scheme. In retrospect, it was better to place the boilers and biomass storage in a separate building at our company’s location. After we submitted a project change, things started moving fast."
What happened next?
“In June 2016, it turned out to be possible to build the power plant in a new location; in July work started with drawing up the plans and the power plant was put into operation last April. If there is a will, it can occur fast. That is therefore different compared to the discussions around the heat network: That is not progressing fast. And that is not in the interest of horticulture."
How does the plant work in practice?
“The wood chips come from the region. These are incinerated: the heat is supplied to the grid, to the RoCa pipeline. We also purchase the heat from the biomass plant via the grid. The great thing is that we only purchase that heat when we need it. This is good for us, but also for the installation: if it were only dependent on us, then you would often have to deal with excessive power fluctuations in the biomass installation, which can have negative effects.”
And what does your own energy management look like?
“Because of the biomass plant we use decentralized heat production for part of our company and we use less gas. We still have a number of CHPs and a boiler: but now we use these a lot less. But I expect that horticulture will still need gas and CHPs in the coming ten years. We are not off the gas yet.”
Source: Greenport West-Holland
Publication date: 7/18/2019
Waste Heat From Berlin Biomass Plant Will Help Grow Hydroponic Greens
The biomass power plant in Berlin is getting half a million dollars from the state to build a waste heat recovery system that will soon power a new greenhouse
PHOTO: Wood chips wait to be turned into electricity – and excess thermal energy – at the Burgess BioPower plant in Berlin.
Photo By CORI PRINCELL / NHPR
By ANNIE ROPEIK • 05-17-19
The biomass power plant in Berlin is getting half a million dollars from the state to build a waste heat recovery system that will soon power a new greenhouse.
The Burgess Biopower plant burns wood chips to make steam, which turns turbines and generates electricity.
It also makes a lot of excess heat – 500 million BTUs an hour, enough to keep roughly 10 million square feet warm. Right now, that heat is released to the atmosphere.
Burgess operations manager Dammon Frecker says the new grant, from the state Public Utilities Commission, will help them build a system to harness that waste heat and put it to good use.
"We're very excited about not only the economic development, but in doing something novel with Burgess BioPower,” he says. “Not only producing electrical renewable energy, but thermal renewable energy."
One application for that thermal energy will be a hydroponic greenhouse that’ll grow more than a million pounds a year of baby leafy greens – like spinach, kale and arugula – for sale locally.
"Particularly in a Northern climate, a greenhouse will need heat ... for growing the produce,” he says. “So this thermal energy recovery system has been designed just to meet those heating demands in the cooler weather."
The 4-acre greenhouse is set to be built next year and will be operated by a third party, which Frecker declined to name.
The city of Berlin also wants to use some waste heat to melt snow and ice on its sidewalks. Frecker says these kinds of “synergies” have been one of Burgess’ goals since it was built.
And he says even these two projects combined will only use about 20 percent of the heat the power plant generates.
Burgess has space left on its campus for future businesses that could use the heat. Frecker says it could also theoretically be distributed beyond their facility, with other infrastructure upgrades.
TAGS: BERLIN BURGESS BIOPOWER BIOMASS
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Berlin City Manager Hopes To Harness Steam From Biomass Plant To Melt Sidewalk Snow
By SARAH GIBSON • JAN 18, 2019
SARAH GIBSON FOR NHPR
On cold days, Berlin City manager Jim Wheeler can stand on the steps of city hall and see plumes of steam billowing from the wood chip burning plant Burgess BioPower.
The plant sits on the former site of the city’s pulp mill factory on the Androscoggin River.
“One of the things about biomass plants is that they make a lot of steam, and that's energy that goes to the sky,” Wheeler says.
Now, Wheeler wants to harness the heat that makes this steam for a snowmelt system.