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IDTechEx Identifies Innovative Companies Changing The Face of Vertical Farming
Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly
Sep 02, 2020
BOSTON, Sept. 2, 2020,/PRNewswire/ -- Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly. By using LED lighting tailored to the exact needs of the crop, alongside advanced hydroponic growing systems, and growing crops in vertically stacked trays, vertical farms can achieve yields hundreds of times higher than the same area of traditional farmland.
Investors and entrepreneurs alike are excited about the potential of vertical farming to revolutionize the global food system and some vertical farming companies have raised dizzying amounts of money. Plenty, a San Francisco-based start-up, and the most well-funded vertical farm, has raised $401 million in funding, with backers including SoftBank, Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Fellow US start-ups AeroFarms and Bowery Farming are not far behind, with $238 million and $167.5 million in funding, respectively.
While there has been much attention on these companies and their exploits, there are dozens of other companies in the industry developing their own approaches to vertical farming. Here, we explore some of the most innovative vertical farming start-ups, based on the recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2020-2030".
Freight Farms
Freight Farms is a Boston-based vertical farming company that manufactures "container farms", vertical farming systems installed into 40' mobile containers. Alongside its container farms, Freight Farms provides the farmhand software, a hydroponic farm management, and automation platform that also connects users with other Freight Farms customers. Container farms have many advantages - they are easy to transport, compact, and relatively cheap to set up in comparison to other vertical farming systems. Container farms are often turnkey systems, too, meaning that they require much less experience and expertise to operate than either a factory-scale vertical farm or indeed a traditional farm.
Freight Farms recently released its most advanced container farming system, the Greenery, which it believes is the most advanced container farming system in the world. The Greenery is a turnkey system that uses an array of sensors to continuously monitor the growing conditions inside the farm, with the farmhand software automatically making adjustments and planning watering cycles in order to provide the optimum environment for growing crops and allowing users to control their Greenery remotely from a smartphone.
80 Acres – Collaboration, Food Experience
Despite their potential, many vertical farming start-ups have struggled over the years with the labor costs and power requirements for running a high-tech indoor farm. This has often forced producers to sell their crops at a much higher price than conventionally farmed leafy greens. Additionally, many founders of vertical farming companies have little experience in the food industry and can struggle with the day-to-day realities of running a food production industry.
80 Acres is an Ohio-based vertical farming start-up aiming to overcome these challenges by constructing the world's first fully automated indoor farm. The company was founded in November 2015 by Tisha Livingston and Mike Zelkind, who between them have over 50 years' experience in the food industry. Collaboration is also important to 80 Acres. The company believes that vertical farming is a very multidisciplinary field, requiring collaboration between partners who are experts in their own discipline. Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) developed the LEDs used in the facility and Dutch greenhouse automation company Priva developed the control and fertigation systems, with 80 Acres using its experience in food to bring the system together and integrate the technology.
The company currently operates a 75,000 square foot facility in Hamilton, a suburb of Cincinnati, which is set to expand to 150,000 square feet in summer 2020 following a $40 million investment from Virgo Investment Group. When completed, 80 Acres claims this facility will be the world's first fully automated indoor farm. The farm will be automated from seeding to growing to harvesting, using robotics, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and around-the-clock monitoring sensors and control systems to optimize every aspect of growing produce indoors.
Jones Food Company
Jones Food Company is a British vertical farming start-up that operates Europe's largest vertical farm out of a warehouse in Scunthorpe, UK. It was founded in 2016 by James Lloyd-Jones and Paul Challinor, who wanted to build the largest vertical farming facility that they could in order to help overcome some of the operational problems plaguing the industry and bring vertical farming to the mainstream. After visiting several vertical farms in Japan, they decide that the only way to make vertical farming a success is to focus on scale and automation.
Jones Food Company focuses on maximizing automation and robotics in their facility to minimize operating costs, with its facility being modeled on a car factory, with the growing process resembling a production line - over the 25-day growing period, plants move from one end of the facility to another. Much of the work is done by machines, helping to reduce labor costs. Harvesting is carried out by bespoke machines and the heavy lifting is performed by a robot called Frank. This focus on automation means that only six employees are required to operate the Scunthorpe facility.
Jones Food Company has partnered with UK online grocery company Ocado, which currently owns about 70% of the business. Through this partnership, Jones Food Company is aiming to set up vertical farms next to Ocado's grocery depots, meaning that fresh produce could be delivered to shoppers within an hour of being picked.
Infarm
Infarm is a Berlin-based start-up that sells modular, hydroponic vertical farms for growing leafy greens and herbs in supermarkets, schools, and offices. A single two-square meter unit can grow 8,000 plants in a year, with the company claiming its farms use 95% less water than soil-based farms, take up 99.5% less space, use zero chemical pesticides, need 90% less transportation, and use 75% less fertilizer.
Infarm has partnered with several major supermarkets across Europe, where it has currently deployed over 500 farms in stores and distribution centers. The company is also beginning to expand in the USA, having recently partnered with Kroger to trial its indoor farms in two QFC stores in Seattle. In the UK, it has partnered with supermarket chain Marks & Spencer, which is trialing in-store urban farming in seven locations in London, growing Italian basil, Greek basil, Bordeaux basil, mint, mountain coriander, thyme, and curly parsley.
The company's business model is based around an "agriculture-as-a-service" model. The modular farms remain the property of Infarm, which receives income per harvested plant. Infarm then coordinates with clients such as retailers and takes care of the farm including installation, cultivation, harvesting, and maintenance. Aside from the regular visits by service personnel to plant new plants, the farms are controlled remotely. This modular, data-driven, and distributed approach — a combination of big data, IoT, and cloud analytics — sets Infarm apart from competitors. From a price point, Infarm is attractive for supermarkets, which get a better product at the same price. In addition, the plants, especially herbs, are harvested fresh, preserving color, smell, flavor, and nutrients.
For more information about the vertical farming industry and the innovative companies operating within the space, please see the recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2020-2030", www.IDTechEx.com/VertFarm or for the full portfolio of related research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research.
IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Consultancy, and Event products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information on IDTechEx Research and Consultancy, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.
Special Report: How Farming Is Gaining Ground in UAE
The UAE has implemented a range of policies, measures and strategies to ensure constant food supplies from abroad and scaled up agricultural production at home - and this is evident as businesses come forward and share their roles in aligning their strategies to boost food and water security.
Photo Supplied by VeggiTech
8/24/2020 11:00:45 PM
(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) The UAE has implemented a range of policies, measures and strategies to ensure constant food supplies from abroad and scaled up agricultural production at home - and this is evident as businesses come forward and share their roles in aligning their strategies to boost food and water security.
On Sunday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: "Food and water security are among the priorities of the UAE government for the post-coronavirus period, and the objective is to launch specialist initiatives that will ensure our readiness to confront all types of crises."
The farming sector is aggressively working towards boosting local production of agro produce. Agrotech company VeggiTech, for instance, is addressing the key challenges of traditional farming through its design of protected hydroponics and grow lights-assisted hydroponics.
"We have chosen the challenging conditions of UAE to demonstrate the positive use of agro technology to create sustainable farms aligned to the UAE's vision of food security," said Hemant Julka, co-founder and COO of VeggiTech.
In the last 18 months, the company has built and is operating over 30 hectares of farms with protected hydroponics and is also in the process of going live with 4,500 sqm of indoor vertical farms that employ grow light-assisted hydroponics.
"We produced over 1.6 million kg of produce last year and this year [including the summer months] and we will produce more than 1.9 million kg with over 500 tonnes of organic produce from our farms between August 2020 and July 2021," added Julka.
Similarly, Dake Rechsand's primary focus is enabling desert regions to expand their agriculture and long-term water storage capacities and create food and water security.
"Our strength is being able to achieve this using simple, ordinary and abundantly available sand as a raw material. We are ramping up production and expect our technologies to enable farming and greenery for at least 10,000 acres across the UAE or for half-a-million trees by the first half of 2021," said Chandra Dake, executive chairman and group CEO of Dake Group.
"Within the same period we also expect to be ready with a comprehensive strategy for harvesting and usage of rainwater, which will allow us to enable 10 cubic metres [two million gallons] of water storage from harvested rainwater. In fact, we are ready to take on pilot projects during the upcoming monsoons next month and work with the government bodies to showcase how our products and technology can help harness rainfall and deliver immediate and tangible results for the UAE."
Tech disruption
VeggiTech produce utilises less than 10 percent of the water used in traditional farms and is pesticide-free. In addition, they have deployed technology for complete food transparency through QR codes that give complete visibility of the growing process of the vegetable produce from farms. The firm is in the business of offering "farming as a service", where the firm builds and operates digital smart farms that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.
In the first half of 2020, despite the Covid-19 circumstances, VeggiTech signed contracts for 13,000 sqft of grow area for indoor vertical farms and building protected hydroponic farms of 80,000 sqft.
"We are upbeat on the current pipeline of projects [over 10 million sqft of farms - protected hydroponics; more than 200,000 sqft of indoor vertical farms] to be signed in the third and fourth quarters of 2020 and these would start producing over 25 million kg of produce every year from 2021-22. The optimal use of land assets combined with the reduction in water resources and pesticide free crops are an ideal example of using technology to align with the UAE's food security goals," added Julka.
Desert farming
The Middle East, including the UAE and GCC, is enriched with desert sand. However, most of these desert regions import a bulk of their food commodities. Dake Rechsand has what it calls 'magic sand', a technology enables the sustainable production of organic food in the desert using up to 70 percent less water than conventional methods. At 65 percent of total use, the agriculture sector is the largest consumer of water in the UAE.
"On average, about 11 to 12 litres of water is being used to irrigate one sqm of land per day in the UAE. If we reduce that requirement by 70 percent, we could conserve about 45 percent of the total water consumed in the UAE. More importantly, this can be achieved while increasing the UAE's agricultural production significantly," said Dake.
Dake Rechsand creates breathable surfaces for roads, kerbstones and pavements, etc, which can absorb water, and harvest it.
"Coupled with our decentralised mini-reservoirs made from the same material, we can help harvest rainwater and keep it fresh for up to seven years, without any energy inputs. This can not only result in creating a new, reliable and cost effective water source, adding to the UAE's water reserves, but also one that is much cleaner since rainwater is a better source than desalination," added Dake.
"Our approach towards maximising water retention in sand is what propels desert farming and is both economically as well as organically efficient. That means one can get organic products grown from these regions very easily. Our products are designed scientifically, and they contribute to environmental sustainability."
ICBA committed to boost food and water security
The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) completely supports every effort towards the food and water security of the UAE's vision.
Dr Ismahane Elouafi, director-general of the ICBA, said: "Like national security, food and water security must be a priority for all countries. Thanks to the UAE's wise and visionary leadership, the country has always been at the forefront of ensuring food and water security in the country. During the recent disruption to global food systems, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UAE set an excellent example of its efforts towards food security. It was one of the few countries where the food supply remained uninterrupted. Even though the UAE is short of arable land and freshwater resources, and has harsh climatic conditions, the country harness the benefits of innovation to make agriculture possible and profitable in the country."
The UAE's National Food Security Strategy 2051, which was launched in 2018 with a vision to become a world-leading hub for innovation-driven food security, also prioritizes agricultural research and development. The country rose from 33rd place in 2017 to 21st in 2019 in the Global Food Security Index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The ICBA has been working on several technologies and innovations to boost agricultural productivity and improve farmers' livelihood, in non-arable lands and harsh ecosystems.
All of the ICBA's research and development programmes are directly beneficial to the region, particularly to the UAE.
"We have introduced what we call climate-smart and resource-efficient crops such as quinoa, pearl millet, sorghum, and Salicornia, among others, in countries in Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. These crops are nutritious and resilient to heat, drought, and salinity, therefore fit for ecosystems such as UAE. Furthermore, our crop development and research trials have been mostly conducted in our experimental farm in Dubai. Hence, all data and results are very relevant to the UAE," added Dr Elouafi.
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