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Certhon Found In Favor In Proceedings Against Plantlab
Companies receive final decision in patent dispute
Is indoor farming patentable or not? That's the question at stake in a legal battle that has raged for several years between Certhon and PlantLab.
Last week, the Court of Appeal in The Hague confirmed the annulation of PlantLab's Dutch patent on their indoor farming cultivation system. This is a victory for Certhon. As the Court of Appeal has declared that the company has not infringed the patent in any way, Certhon speaks of 'a victory for the entire indoor farming sector'. In the meantime, PlantLab is holding on to the patent and is awaiting the European ruling and therefore the case is not yet closed.
PlantLab has a pending objection against the rejection of its Dutch patent. The decision on this is subject to the Technical Board of Appeal's (TKB) judgment on the validity of PlantLab's European patent. In 2017, the European Patent Office (EPO) declared the patent as valid. Objections by Certhon and others against the ruling were rejected.
Sharing knowledge
Both parties have responded to the recent court ruling. Certhon advocates transparency to push the sector forward. "The judgment of the Court of Appeal is a victory for the entire sector," Lotte van Rijn, General Manager at Certhon noted. "The ruling is a positive stimulus to further develop and optimize indoor farming across the board.
"At Certhon, we take our product development and clients very seriously. If we bring technology and plants together, the growing possibilities for our clients are endless. Optimal growing recipes, extreme water savings, grip on growth, ingredients and quality, combined with yield optimization by autonomous growing systems and robotization; that is where the added value of our systems in indoor farming lies."
John van der Sande, Chief Innovation Officer at Certhon noted, "On the one hand, we are extremely pleased with this ruling. However, on the other hand, it is a shame that these proceedings have cost so much extra effort and energy. Fortunately, with this ruling, we can continue with what we are good at. Namely, developing reliable technology to improve cultivation processes. We are only at the beginning of the enormous potential of indoor farming. We are ready to take the next steps, as this ruling strengthens us tremendously."
LED as a heating component
PlantLab says it is surprised that the court does not consider LED lights as a heating component that can be used to warm up leaves. This leads to the heart of the matter: The patent in question is about a closed environment growing system where the temperature of the cultivation system and substrate is controlled, for example lighting.
PlantLab, therefore, believes that its patent has a broad reach. "The minute you start to control the cultivation by influencing the temperature, the patent applies," they stated in 2017. It is unknown when the ruling of the TKB can be expected. After this ruling or other potential proceedings, Certhon can reinstate the case.
For more information:
Certhon
ABC Westland 555
P.O. Box 90
2685 ZH Poeldijk
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 174 22 50 80
Fax: +31 174 22 50 81
www.certhon.com
For more information:
PlantLab
info@plantlab.com
www.plantlab.com
Publication date: Wed 31 Mar 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
'This Is The Farming of The Future': The Rise of Hydroponic Food Labs
Needing no soil or sun, an underground farm in Liverpool challenges traditional methods
Needing no soil or sun, an underground farm in Liverpool challenges traditional methods
Farm Urban’s operations director, Jayne Goss, carries a strip of hydroponically grown lettuce.
Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian
Nazia Parveen North of England correspondent @NParveenGT
26 Dec 2019
Beautifully arranged rows of bok choi, parsley, tarragon and basil alongside dozens of variety of lettuce grow together in harmony under the pink glow of an LED light in a former sugar factory.
Water infused with nutrients trickles on to the green towers, keeping the rosettes hydrated and fed. This is a technically advanced indoor vertical farm buried deep in a basement at a former Tate & Lyle warehouse and now the Liverpool Life Sciences UTC.
Two academics pooled their resources, recruited Ph.D. and master’s students and are growing food hydroponically in towers – an increasingly popular concept where salads and leafy greens are grown all year round under precise conditions in vertically stacked foam-filled beds without natural sunlight and soil.
The farm is the creation of Jens Thomas and Paul Myers, both with scientific backgrounds, who first met at a conference and then again at a Thai boxing class before deciding to work together. They founded Farm Urban in 2014.
Since then, they have installed systems across the city including at the University of Liverpool, Alder Hey children’s hospital and Ness Botanic Gardens and have carried out a range of public outreach activities.
Jayne Goss, left, technical director, Jens Thomas, and managing director, Paul Myers, in a skate park next to Liverpool Life Sciences UTC. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian
Their aim is to change our relationship with food: the traditional methods of agriculture, they say, and using acres of land is no longer sustainable. The world’s population is growing – the World Health Organization estimates it will have increased to 9.7 billion people by 2050, with 70% of people living in urban areas
To preserve natural habitats and improve worldwide food security there needs to be a complete overhaul of food production methods, say Thomas and Myers.
They are in precarious territory. Similar schemes have failed, including one in Greater Manchester. The Biospheric Foundation, based in a mill by the banks of the River Irwell in Salford, was supposed to be a state-of-the-art urban aquaponic farm, where fish waste provided the food source for growing plants, and the plants provided a natural filter for the water. Three years after the project opened, it went under more than £100,000 in debt, with the reputation of the whole scheme in tatters.
Can we ditch intensive farming - and still feed the world?
Such food production schemes face very real financial challenges. First, there are the costs that, if not carefully managed, could end up being astronomical. They are mainly associated with the energy use required to maintain a controlled environment and provide artificial light. There is the issue of the carbon footprint of using high amounts of energy amid efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There has also been criticism of the farms for being geared to producing only leafy greens and not higher-calorie crops.
Thomas and Myers insist their project is different. Their aims are hyperlocal – they want to start small and gear production in tandem with increasing commercial interest in their products. Their current vertical farm, which was shipped over from Canada, has been paid for by First Ark, a Knowsley-based social investment organization. The £150,000 funding is part-loan and part-grant.
Thomas and Myers are hoping to recoup some of the cash by selling salad boxes for £12.50 to individuals and businesses, with annual subscriptions costing £600. They have also launched a crowdfunding campaign, Greens for Good, where every box of greens bought by a local business supports a box of greens going to a local school. They have raised more than £17,000 of their £25,000 goal.
Jens Thomas stands between the rows of optimised LED lighting and vertical strips of vegetables growing on moveable racks. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian
Myers, 32, the son of a hairdresser and entrepreneur, became interested in food production while working on his Ph.D. at the National Cancer Institute. Billions are spent on drug research, but he feels there needs to be a more holistic approach to look at how diet and food quality can affect health.
“This is the farming of the future. Pesticide-free and moving from the traditional horse and tractor agriculture that is steadily destroying the planet to a more sustainable approach,” he says.
Myers is fully aware of the risks of his chosen career path. “Yes, I am a bit scared – we have taken on a huge debt – but we de-risked it as much as humanly possible and now it’s just a case of carrying on and working to make it work.
”He certainly has the backing of students Emmanuella Aul-Mku and Rhianna Ghalleb, both 14, who have seen firsthand the benefits of growing salad in vertical farms. Their school canteen upstairs serves salad from the farm and pupils are regularly invited into the basement to see the mechanics of the technologically advanced food production.
Ghalleb, who spent some of her childhood in Tunisia, and Aul-Mku in Nigeria, both come from families which grew their own vegetables and fruit in their back gardens.
“My nanna had olive trees and figs and I would do gardening with her all the time and help her grow things but we don’t do that here. We just go to Asda and buy our food in plastic packets – we don’t know what conditions it has been grown in – what has been used to help it grow,” says Ghalleb.
Aul-Mku agrees this reliance on supermarkets affects people’s relationship with food and thinks these new vertical farms could change that.
“We get to see it growing in front of us and that really makes a difference. If there were farms like this everywhere then people would be able to feel part of a community because they would all be growing food for each other,” she says.
US (PA): State-Funded Aquaponics Lab Teaches Students About Science And Leadership
West Shore School District students led Governor Tom Wolf on a tour of a new aquaponics lab at Cedar Cliff High School. Funded with a $250,000 grant awarded by the Wolf administration, the new lab provides hands-on learning for students across the school district to develop skills in science, business, and leadership
West Shore School District students led Governor Tom Wolf on a tour of a new aquaponics lab at Cedar Cliff High School. Funded with a $250,000 grant awarded by the Wolf administration, the new lab provides hands-on learning for students across the school district to develop skills in science, business and leadership.
“This new lab goes beyond teaching students about aquaculture and hydroponics to creating opportunities to learn about leadership, technology, and marketing,” said Governor Wolf. “This is another example of the workforce development strategies my administration is supporting to prepare future generations with the knowledge and skills to succeed and make Pennsylvania an attractive place for growing and emerging industries to do business.”
The indoor lab constructed at the high school last summer combines conventional aquaculture, such as raising fish and other aquatic animals in tanks, and hydroponics, the production of plants in water rather than soil, into a symbiotic system used to grow fish, fruits, vegetables, feedstock, and other plant products all year.
Students from all 14 West Shore School District schools will use the lab to learn about plant propagation, food production, and hydroponic plant growth. High school students are also using the lab for research in plant lighting manipulation, propagation techniques, crop rotation studies, and fish breeding and rearing practices.
The aquaponics lab was one of 16 projects that received a total of $3.5 million in Strategic Innovation grants from the Department of Labor & Industry. The grants are awarded through Local Workforce Development Boards.
“The Aquaponics Lab at Cedar Cliff High School is a catalyst for district-wide STEAM experiences and hands-on learning opportunities,” said West Shore School District Superintendent Dr. Todd Stoltz. “The investment made by the Department of Labor & Industry in our students’ future extends beyond aquaponics. We now have a variety of opportunities available not only to those students interested in a career in science, but also communications, education, technology, marketing, and finance. The impact this program is having on students individually and collectively, and in our local community, perhaps even global community, is a great source of district pride.”
Investing in science and technology education is a priority for Governor Wolf. In addition to Strategic Innovation Grants, the governor launched the PAsmart workforce development initiative and secured $70 million over two years. PAsmart is providing $40 million for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning and computer science programs, and $30 million for apprenticeships and job training programs.
Pennsylvania now ranks second in the nation for investments in computer science education and is third in the number of nationally recognized STEM ecosystems.
For more information:
www.governor.pa.gov
Publication date: Thu 14 Nov 2019