Pure Harvest Smart Farms Adopts Honeywell’s Sustainable Technology
Al Ain farm uses the Solstice zd for climate-controlled system – an ultra-low-global-warming-potential solution – for growth of its produce
By ITP.net Staff Writer
28 Jun 2021
The Al Ain-based Pure Harvest Smart Farms is using Honeywell’s Solstice zd (R-1233zd) ultra-low-global-warming-potential (LGWP) refrigerant to cool its new indoor farm, while reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
The UAE-based company has implemented several high-tech, controlled-environment hybrid growing systems across the Middle East to meet the regional need for fresh fruits and vegetables. However, the Al Ain farm will be the first sustainable initiative to use Honeywell’s solution, which effectively increases energy efficiency when used in chillers, and will assist the farm in reducing its carbon footprint.
Based on hydrofluoro-olefin technology, Solstice zd is non-flammable with a GWP of 1, and offers better capacity and similar efficiency to HCFC R-123 in low-pressure centrifugal chillers to cool large buildings and infrastructure.
“We’ve developed a successful controlled agriculture business that converts natural sunlight to grow fresh produce in abundance, helping us to address regional challenges such as food insecurity and water scarcity, and offer consumers fresher and more sustainable choices,” said Sky Kurtz, CEO and co-founder of Pure Harvest Smart Farms.
“Solstice zd is integral to the continued growth of our sustainable operations and is a practical and economical solution that enables us to meet our long-term goals, and comply with existing and proposed regulations for lower-GWP solutions.”
Amir Naqvi, regional business leader, Middle East, Turkey, and Africa for Honeywell Fluorine Products, added: “Solstice zd is a long-term, environmentally preferable solution for farming in the region, which typically has high energy demands as a result of the hot climate.
“Converting to Solstice zd will not only help Pure Harvest Smart Farms with sustainable practices, but will also help to accelerate the industry’s conversion to alternatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Founded in Abu Dhabi, Pure Harvest Smart Farms is a technology-enabled agribusiness focused on year-round, sustainable production of premium quality fresh fruits and vegetables. As makers of the Middle East’s first commercial-scale, semi-automated high-tech hybrid greenhouse food production system, Pure Harvest leverages innovative growing technologies and horticultural best practices to enable local-for-local production of affordable, sustainably-grown, cleaner than organic and protected by nature, fresh produce anywhere.
Pioneering controlled environment agriculture (CEA) in the Middle East, Pure Harvest’s mission is to tackle some of the region’s biggest problems using technology to provide agriculture solutions that address food security, water conservation, economic diversification, and sustainability needs.
The company’s products are found in some of the most respected and far-reaching retailers in the Middle East, such as Spinneys, Waitrose, and Carrefour, as well as numerous reputable hotels and restaurants in the UAE. The company currently grows 26 commercial varieties of tomatoes, including six that have never before been seen, and six varieties of strawberries.
By early next year, upon completion of the company’s Kuwaiti facility and its expansion into KSA, the product portfolio will broaden even further, to include raspberries, blackberries, additional vine crops and lettuces.
Solstice zd has been adopted by Trane, a leading air-conditioner manufacturer, in its new Series E CenTraVac large capacity centrifugal chillers in the Middle East as well as in Europe’s Channel Tunnel, which has demonstrated annual energy savings of 33% (4.8 GWh).
Honeywell refrigerants are sold worldwide under the Solstice and Genetron brand names for a range of applications, including refrigeration, building and automobile air-conditioning. The company and its suppliers have completed a billion-dollar investment program in research and development, and new capacity based on Honeywell’s hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology. Worldwide adoption of Solstice products has resulted in the reduction of more than 200 million metric tons of CO2 to date, equal to eliminating the emissions from more than 42 million cars from the road for a year.
Honeywell recently committed to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035. This commitment builds on the company’s track record of sharply reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations and facilities as well as its decades-long history of innovation to help its customers meet their environmental and social goals.
Food TechSustainabilityFarmingPure Harvest Smart Farms (Pureharvest.Ae/)Honeywell