Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
"Providing A Multi-Faceted Solution With The Potential To CEA Farmers And The Industry"
Simon Deacon, CEO of Light Science Technologies said: “The opening of the laboratory demonstrates our full commitment to the ‘art’ of plant science
Light Science Technologies Opens Its New In-House Laboratory
Light Science Technologies (LST), has opened its new, state-of-the-art in-house laboratory as it aims to help growers create the most optimal plant recipe.
Simon Deacon, CEO of Light Science Technologies said: “The opening of the laboratory demonstrates our full commitment to the ‘art’ of plant science. It will help accelerate the development of horticulture lighting and environmental technologies over the next few years. And, beyond as we seek out more sustainable, energy-efficient ways of farming."
The purpose-built testing facility at LST’s Derby site will mimic, via a test and replicate process, a grower’s closed indoor environment and test new crops in its controlled environment chambers managing temperature, humidity, and CO2. By running up to 12 concurrent trials in 6 chambers, a team including in-house scientists and top-level industry experts will harness historical and real-time data to help farmers and growers create the right recipe.
Simon continued: “Our testing facility provides a multi-faceted solution with the potential to controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farmers and the industry at large. Not just recipe development for higher density and profit margin crops, but a pathway to industry-leading scientists in different plant species. And, equally importantly, an opportunity to prototype new crops before investment.”
Utilizing its Conviron A2000 reach-in grow chambers along with its integrated, fully updateable and bespoke lighting solutions, LST’s lab offers multiple benefits to growers while helping them achieve the optimal yield, including lowering CAPEX and OPEX costs.
One of LST's scientists outside Conviron growth chambers in lab
By harnessing advanced lighting technology, LST’s lighting systems can identify the right spectral waveforms and PPFD levels required for any species of plant or microbiology and can validate the performance of a grower’s existing set-up or compare new solutions independently, using its own Quantum PAR Photo-Goniometer testing facility. Built inside a 22-meter bespoke light tunnel using its 2021 SSL Spectral Photo Goniometer, it can accurately measure PAR (400nm-700nm) Quantum PAR (250nm-1040nm) and CIE.*
The lab’s capabilities also mean it can measure plant health thanks to the LIcor LI-6800, the only photosynthesis system capable of measuring combined gas exchange and fluorescence from leaves and aquatic samples in just a few seconds with the highest level of accuracy and detail. It also instantly details temperature and humidity.
Other key elements include advanced water and environmental testing, used to help growers identify the macronutrients in their plants and check for all types of food safety, quality and chemical contamination. And, to ensure only plant performance data is collected, GrowFoam, a natural biodegradable growing medium that has no effect on the plant, will be used in the chambers.
One of the most interesting aspects of the lab is the focus on developing an AI capable of monitoring and proactively controlling environmental parameters and plant performance. This is done by leveraging LST’s partnership with a number of universities and its work using an in-house Big Data resource. Using the latest stacked GPGPU technology, data can be brought to life to increase plant performance, taste control and quality.
For more information:
Light Science Tech
Claire Brown, PR Consultant
claire.brown@lightsciencetech.com
www.lightsciencetech.com
Publication date: Wed 17 Mar 2021
Is All White Light the Same - Webinar
In this free webinar, we break down the differences among different types of white horticultural lighting. We will present the results of comparative plant trials we conducted using a variety of our own and other LED providers’ luminaires
More and more LEDs are going from purple to white. Is there any difference among the countless white LED light options on the market, in addition to fluorescent? Cool white, warm white, full-spectrum white, fluorescent, white with UV and far red, etc. How to evaluate these choices?
In this free webinar, we break down the differences among different types of white horticultural lighting. We will present the results of comparative plant trials we conducted using a variety of our own and other LED providers’ luminaires.
Spectra appearing white to human eyes contain a variety of spectrum colors, including green. Humans can distinguish them in terms of their temperature (e.g. warm white and cool white) and CRI (color rendering index) which determines how realistic objects appear under them.
Plants however can have dramatically different reactions to light that appear nearly the same to us. The example here shows the difference in biomass accumulation from three light sources that look exactly the same!
This webinar is aimed at growers and researchers trying to understand which kind of light to illuminate their growth chambers, indoor farms, and greenhouse compartments with.
Register for the webinar here.
Contact Valoya sales here - sales@valoya.com
About Valoya
Valoya is a provider of high-end, energy-efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming, and medicinal plant cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses, and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).
Additional information:
Valoya Ltd, Finland
Tel: +358 10 2350300
Email: sales@valoya.com
Web: www.valoya.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valoyafi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/valoya
![Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses: Energy and LED Costs And Differences [Part 2 of 5]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57c8695d5016e11e71be1d83/1615337195881-9949W7G4WYZHR08W8UW3/Screen+Shot+2021-03-10+at+1.40.08+AM.png)
Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses: Energy and LED Costs And Differences [Part 2 of 5]
Lighting is one of the biggest expenses for a vertical farm, for obvious reasons – each layer in the farm needs its own LED “suns.” Agritecture Designer, a consulting software created by Gordon-Smith’s company, estimates the need at roughly 10 LEDs per square meter
Part 2 of 5] This is the second post in a 5-part series on the differences between vertical farms and greenhouses, and the considerations that will help farming entrepreneurs decide which is right for their situation.
Last week, in the first article of this series, we discussed the basic differences between vertical farms and greenhouses, including why location is such an important factor in the decision. In short: The location of a farm governs how much space will be available for it, and the source of the energy it will use.
That last part is what you might call “the elephant in the room” when it comes to indoor farming: Energy demand, and the main reason we care about it – carbon emissions. So let’s talk about that today.
Carbon Footprint Factors: Electricity (But Not Only)
One of the leading critiques of vertical farming is that replacing natural sunlight and open-air with LED bulbs and climate control requires electricity – lots of it.
“If the source of the energy is not renewable,” points out Henry Gordon-Smith, the CEO of Agritecture, an independent consultancy that helps clients decide between vertical farms and greenhouses, “Then vertical farms have enormously more carbon footprint than greenhouses.”
But the opposite is also true – where renewables are available, vertical farming can greatly reduce the carbon footprint of foods that are normally trucked long distances, or flown in from overseas.
For example, “Norway could be huge for vertical farming, because they just have so much cheap, renewable energy,” Gordon-Smith suggested.
When you tally the emissions reductions from shorter transport distances, the reduction in fertilizer use (fertilizer production is highly carbon-intense, and Controlled Environment Agriculture uses it much more efficiently than outdoor farms), plus the reduction in food waste, it’s clear that artificial light and conditioned air inside vertical farms are not the only carbon footprint factors to consider.
Bringing the Sun Indoors: Changing Electricity Costs for Farms
Lighting is one of the biggest expenses for a vertical farm, for obvious reasons – each layer in the farm needs its own LED “suns.” Agritecture Designer, a consulting software created by Gordon-Smith’s company, estimates the need at roughly 10 LEDs per square meter.
That’s a useful figure to get started, but given the variability between types of LEDs, a more precise estimate would be about 100 watts of LED power per square meter, according to Gus van der Feltz, another CEA industry expert. Van der Feltz is a co-founder and Board Member of Farmtech Society in Belgium, and project leader for Fieldlab Vertical Farming in the Netherlands.
With these lamps operating 12 to 18 hours a day in most vertical farms, the power usage from LEDs accounts for 50 to 65% of the electricity bill.
The exact amount depends on several factors: The relative efficiency of the LEDs used, compared with the efficiency of other systems in the farm (such as climate control), as well as the light requirements of each individual crop. (For example, the total electricity required for growing light-loving strawberries in an iFarm, for example, is about 117 kWh per month for each square meter of growing space, while arugula needs only about 52 kWh.)
But whether you opt for a greenhouse or a vertical farm, you’ll be growing local produce, which means your farm may be eligible for subsidies or another form of reduced electricity rate. Be sure to check with your local government and electricity providers.
It’s also important to note that greenhouses increasingly rely on LEDs as well, especially during winter in northern climates.
This may be only supplemental light, and it will vary with the location, seasonality, and how much light each crop requires – but greenhouses are still not as energy-intensive as vertical farms.
“It takes a lot of energy to produce food (with vertical farms),” says Ramin Ebrahimnejad, vice-chair of the Association for Vertical Farming, and an expert on multiple types of urban farming.
“But,” he adds, “most vertical farms in the developed world already use renewable energy. In the long term, that’s not going to be a challenge for the industry”.
As our electricity sources become more renewable (and as LED technology improves, as we’ll discuss below) energy-intense vertical farming will become both more sustainable – less carbon-intense – and more affordable.
And we can see this evolution happening in real-time: In 2020, Europe produced more electricity from renewables than from fossil fuels for the first time.
The Cost of LEDs for Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses
LEDs themselves are another major OpEx factor in vertical farming. And even though the cost per bulb varies widely, along with the efficiency, the LEDs in a vertical farm generally have to be replaced every five to 10 years, according to the Agritecture Designer software.
However, just as the cost and carbon footprint of electricity are becoming less of a hurdle for indoor farms, the LED situation is also evolving quickly.
An idea that’s become a modern certainty is that technology gets cheaper over time. As the environmental economist William Nordhaus studied in the 1990s, the declining cost of light over the centuries – from candles, to oil lamps, to ever-more-efficient light bulbs – has been changing the world and fueling innovation for millennia.
Something similar is happening with LEDs – up to a point. Moore’s Law famously predicted computing power doubling every year, and Haitz’s Law now forecasts that the cost per lumen for LED light will fall by a factor of 10 each decade, while the light produced increases 20-fold.
However, as Van der Feltz points out, this cannot continue forever and is more limited by the laws of physics than Moore’s Law. Currently, a well-designed horticultural LED system can be up to about 55% efficient – meaning 55% of the energy put in becomes photons, which plants use to grow, and 45% becomes heat. Fifty-five percent efficiency is already impressive when compared with incandescent light bulbs, for example, where energy input produces 5% light and 95% heat.
But still, for the purpose of CEA and especially in vertical farms, the remaining 45% of the energy that becomes heat is often – though not always – useless.
“In greenhouses,” Van der Feltz explains, “the additional heat is typically not all bad. Especially since auxiliary greenhouse lighting is mostly used in the darker and cooler winter months, and there are usually plenty of options for ventilation in case it gets too warm.”
But vertical farms heat up quickly, and as closed systems where opening a window is not an option, any extra heat from LEDs must be balanced with air conditioning or creatively repurposed. Van der Feltz says some indoor farms have been designed to divert excess heat to warm an adjacent building, for example.
So LED performance can still improve marginally, but not exponentially. Van der Feltz says experts estimate that another 25% efficiency improvement is possible, but LEDs will never be able to produce light energy out of thin air.
Whatever the limits of Haitz’s Law, it’s still true that while electricity and LED light bulbs are the most expensive part of a vertical farm today, they’re also the area where improvement is most imminent. (Innovation, and the laws of supply and demand, are constantly bringing down the costs of both, regardless of how much efficiency improvement is still technologically possible.) So operating a vertical farm should still become increasingly affordable over time.
Improved technology and reduced costs for LEDs are especially good news for the potential to grow even more crops in vertical farms, as different plants use different parts of the light spectrum.
iFarm is already a leader in the industry when it comes to research and development for expanding the crop selection available to vertical farmers. As LED technology improves, we’ll be able to take those efforts even further.
Other Energy Costs: Climate Control Needs in Vertical Farms vs. Greenhouses
The high energy costs of lighting a vertical farm are obvious, but the demands of climate control are often not as clear.
Since vertical farms are closed systems, with little to no air exchanged with the outside, they must be constantly cooled and dehumidified. About 20% of the electricity used on a vertical farm is for air conditioning, while dehumidifiers account for 10%.
The need for both of these increases with each layer added to a vertical farm, in order to counter the effects of plants transpiring and increasing the heat and humidity of the system.
In temperate regions, greenhouses can save energy by using natural ventilation, as the Agritecture Designer program explains: Sidewalls can roll up to allow cool air in, while hot air escapes through vents at the top of the greenhouse. Greenhouses can also opt for an evaporative cooling system, which is still more energy efficient than a fully climate-controlled system but does add humidity – another element to be controlled.
But it’s also important to remember that greenhouses are more sensitive to outside temperatures, and therefore, the operational expenses of climate control and/or the time needed for crops to mature will vary more than they will with vertical farms – especially in cold, Northern climates.
Next, in Part 3, we’ll discuss additional cost considerations for vertical farms and greenhouses, beyond electricity.
To learn more about starting a profitable vertical farming business, reach out to our friendly team at iFarm today!
Learn more
09.03.2021
"Horticulture Is An Interesting Sector For Hackers"
Digital espionage from the East, a Dutch newspaper headlined last month. Ransomware attacks pose a risk to Dutch companies, according to various cybersecurity companies
Suddenly it does get very hot in the greenhouse. The grow pipe appears to be heating up at maximum and the windows are closed. The screen system does not seem to respond to the sun and the irrigation is set to zero. The climate computer no longer responds to adjustments, instead giving an unknown message. Hostage. Pay up, or you won't regain control of your greenhouse.
This scenario may seem far-fetched, but at the same time it is not unimaginable. Horticulture is at the forefront of using modern technologies and that simultaneously makes the sector a target for hackers. The information and knowledge of suppliers, growers and breeders also attract the attention of malicious parties. Marco van Loosen and Patrick Dankers of Priva explain what is going on and how it is possible that the horticultural industry is simultaneously the most modern in the world, but also somewhat naive when it comes to cyber security.
Digital espionage from the East, a Dutch newspaper headlined last month. Ransomware attacks pose a risk to Dutch companies, according to various cybersecurity companies. Last week Dutch science organization NWO was in the news: it was extorted by hackers. Their network was taken hostage and because they did not pay a ransom, confidential information was revealed on the dark web. According to Marco van Loosen, these are threats that the horticultural sector must also be aware of. He started working as Information Security Lead at Priva last year. His colleague Patrick Dankers (Portfolio Manager Horticulture) explains that there are various ways in which hacking in horticulture can be a risk. Theft, for example, of technology.
Cloud solutions
"We expect the use of cloud solutions in horticulture to take off in the next five years. Then you can think of autonomous cultivation, harvesting robots, harvest predictions and the associated algorithms, but also the knowledge of, for example, the breeding companies. All technology that can be interesting for outsiders" says Patrick.
"On the other hand, you don't have much use for this data without knowing how it is used in practice," adds Marco. "That also makes the process data from the greenhouses themselves a target. The combination between technology and the process data gives the opportunity to be able to apply the knowledge elsewhere, or at least to be able to catch up technologically in horticulture."
A second threat that horticulture may face is cybercriminals penetrating the greenhouse. "By adjusting parameters or settings or taking over users' accounts, you can obviously cause a lot of damage. Then there may be hostage-taking and asking for ransom, but sometimes they are also just out to do damage."
"Previous DDOS attacks on the government were also found to have been carried out by an adolescent," Patrick gives as an example. "But whoever is behind it, the fact remains that disruption of services is a risk that comes into play, both locally and in the cloud."
Secure and modern
The fact that Priva, of all companies, has come forward with this may seem surprising. The company offers various services that make it possible to control and optimize a crop via the cloud. Priva is happy to share information on how these solutions contribute to, for example, an autonomous greenhouse or scaling up in the sector. "It's a shaky balance: we don't want to paint doomsday scenarios or spread fear, yet this is a topic that concerns the entire sector. At the moment there is a lot of focus on the great opportunities and not on the risks. As Priva, we want to take the lead in making the sector aware of the opportunities that cloud technology offers, but only if you use that beautiful technology properly and safely. By being alert and aware, we at Priva and our users can contribute to this," says Patrick.
Within Priva itself, information security is a high priority. Last year, Marco was recruited, who is working non-stop with a special security team. When developing products and services, we work on the basis of known security principles, and security is also given sufficient attention in new releases. In addition, penetration tests are performed by ethical hackers. "We let them loose on our services and see where we can make improvements. First, they are allowed to try and penetrate our systems from the outside, and at a later stage we give them access so that they can also identify any security weaknesses from the customer's point of view. Findings are assessed and resolved. This kind of double testing keeps us on our toes and allows us to continuously increase the security level of our systems. "
Password on a post-it
There is also work to be done at a much more basic level, at the companies themselves. "There is a large group of customers who are serious about cybersecurity, but we also recognize the sector as one in which security is handled somewhat naively. That really starts with the cliché cases: companies where the password is attached to a computer screen with a post-it, where the Wi-Fi network for guests has had the same password for years or is not separated from the other networks. It might end up with a grower who can control the greenhouse with his iPhone through Priva Operator, but doesn't think about how to handle the security of his phone."
"As Priva, we do everything we can with our cloud platform to protect that knowledge and process data: the data remains with the customer and it is only under Priva's control. To continue doing that safely, we are now turning on two-stage security by default for new users of our cloud services," Marco continued. "In doing so, we help companies make the right choices in this regard. We also ensure that existing company accounts can be used to access our platform so that rights can be easily assigned and removed, for example when employees leave the company. And we also ask companies to think about the security of their systems themselves. Is there someone responsible for IT? Is there someone who regularly checks and monitors everything?"
Learning money paid
"From a historical perspective, hacking is obviously not an important topic for this sector, because it is relatively new. We now see that big players are more engaged in it - perhaps also because learning money has already been paid," Patrick continues. Marco adds: "we are therefore working with the security teams of these big players to fine-tune the security requirements. But companies that do not employ specialists themselves can also choose to outsource part of their IT security."
For growers, it is usually really not necessary to set up a complete security team themselves as well. "But growers sometimes wonder what they have to hide, or what can go wrong. If someone unnoticed is in your system and has access to process data, for example. But also, growers have their own way of growing a tomato, cucumber or rose in the best possible way. Their own knowledge is all in the system and that has been developed and refined over the years. You don't want a hacker to get hold of this, but neither do you want your neighbor or competitor to have access to it. At the same time, of course, you want to take advantage of the new possibilities of this technology, which is certainly possible if we as a sector give security sufficient priority."
For more information:
Priva
www.priva.com
www.priva-international.com
contact.priva@priva.nl
3 Mar 2021
Author: Arlette Sijmonsma
© HortiDaily.com
VIDEO: Signify Celebrates Five Years Anniversary of GrowWise Research Center
Over the past five years, we have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and pioneers all over the world discover how they can feed tomorrow’s cities and grow plants faster, in a more sustainable way."
Five Years of Feeding Tomorrow’s Cities
Ellis Janssen, Director city farming at Signify explains: “At the GrowWise Center, we believe in vertical farming. Over the past five years, we have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and pioneers all over the world discover how they can feed tomorrow’s cities and grow plants faster, in a more sustainable way."
Jarno Mooren, Signify's plant specialist vertical farming with tomato crops cultivated at the GrowWise Center
"We work closely with our customers and partners, looking at all aspects of the business case: whatever a grower’s needs are, we can translate them into a dedicated recipe for growth. To achieve this, our team of plant specialists, application engineers and key account managers look at the most important aspects that determine the set-up of a farm so they can give the grower dedicated advice in making the best decisions," Ellis states.
Ellis Jansen, director of city farming at Signify
She adds, "We have learned a lot over the past five years, and as we are evolving our customers are evolving as well. They want the best solutions for their specific needs. At the GrowWise Center, we support them wherever we can. The world continues to change, and we will change along with it. Through this all, and by combining the latest technology, business insights and plant expertise, we can help growers make their business successful and future-proof."
Jarno in between strawberry crops
"At the GrowWise Center, we are proud of all that has been accomplished in vertical farming over the past five years, and we are excited to see where we can take the dreams and ambitions in vertical farming in the future," Ellis notes.
Global Marcom Manager Horticulture at Signify
Daniela Damoiseaux
Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69
E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com
About Signify
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings, and public spaces. With 2020 sales of EUR 6.5 billion, we have approximately 38,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018, and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, Linked In, and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.
LEDs Light the Way to Efficient Urban Farming
The global pandemic has turned the world upside down, bringing unprecedented change to the way we live, work and play. But the crisis has also paved the way for important new innovations
By Mike Martens, Senior Manager, Illumination Marketing at Osram Opto Semiconductors, North America
The global pandemic has turned the world upside down, bringing unprecedented change to the way we live, work and play. But the crisis has also paved the way for important new innovations. For instance, massive disruption to the global supply chain is now compelling many nations to ramp up their indoor and urban farming efforts to secure their food supply and feed their people.
Take the desert nation of the United Arab Emirates. Amid the ongoing pandemic, the country is experiencing something of a food crisis. That’s why it recently announced a $100 million investment in cutting-edge indoor farming facilities that can help feed its population. The effort will include the creation of the world’s largest vertical farm to help solve the challenge of local food production.
A key component of vertical farming is LED technology. In places across the globe where farmland is limited, innovative LED lighting solutions offer a major advantage because they can provide the exact light composition that various plants need for ideal growth or to develop certain characteristics. Plants can also be grown in a very space-saving manner and with considerably higher yields thanks to these lighting solutions.
LEDs are more efficient
For decades, traditional high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps were commonly used for greenhouses and other horticultural purposes but they bring with them many challenges. They have a short lifespan and are often only suitable for top lighting in greenhouses due to their high heat output.
This is a big problem for greenhouse owners because efficient energy use is essential to economic production. In traditional greenhouse and urban farming setups, HPS lights are often inefficient. They do provide light for plants, but it is often not the most efficient wavelength range because the lamps cannot be customized to provide ideal growing conditions for different types of plants.
HPS lights often generate a lot of heat , causing considerable evaporation and ultimately limiting crop yield. What’s more, due to this heat production, HPS fixtures often cannot be placed very close to plant canopy, preventing more efficient vertical-farm setups. After all, you don’t want to singe your produce.
The good news is that innovative LED technologies can alleviate many of these concerns. For starters, LEDs produce almost no radiated heat, allowing for the light fixtures to be placed closer to plants and for plants to be stacked much higher, enabling farmers to grow more produce in smaller spaces while simultaneously reducing water costs.
LED lights also offer customizable wavelengths for different plants’ needs, allowing greenhouse operators and urban farmers to grow specific plants in their optimal conditions. For instance, LEDs can be tailored to supply light with a higher amount of red or blue content, generating exactly the wavelengths the plant, such as iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and basil need for optimal growth.
Urban farming is not a new phenomenon, but LEDs have the power to take it to the next level and more efficiently feed the world. In terms of sheer numbers, LEDs have an average lifespan of 50,000 hours compared to 8,000 hours for HPS lamps, making LEDS much more economical (and better for the environment). Indeed, vertical farms that leverage LED technology can achieve 40% energy savings compared to traditional lighting methods like HPS lamps. And due to the optimized light spectrum at 450, 660 and 730 nanometers, LEDs can provide the perfect lighting for all types of plants, allowing growers to adjust the lighting exactly to the needs of various crops.
LEDs grow healthier produce
LED are the most efficient lighting technologies to date for growing produce. They not only help produce fresh food in smaller spaces without the use of pesticides, they also make it easier for consumers in urban areas to obtain fresh and healthy food quickly, a must, considering the planet’s ever-growing population and ever-decreasing farmland.
Consumers in urban areas often rely on produce grown in faraway places that is brought to them on trucks using fossil fuels. This produce is often grown with pesticides to keep insects away, as well as fertilizers, so plants can be grown throughout the year, even in suboptimal conditions. All of these factors contribute to climate change and more polluted water sources. With horticultural LEDs, these issues can be mitigated.
LEDs also provide optimal growing conditions in any environment with minimal water waste, while reducing the need for pesticides in indoor growing environments. Communities then have the ability to grow produce closer to home, which allows consumers to learn more easily what exactly goes into their food and greatly reduces the fossil fuel usage to get produce from the (urban) farm to their tables. Urban farming has great potential to make positive impacts on local environments and communities. It’s more sustainable and decreases communities’ reliance on foods shipped in at great cost from around the globe.
LEDs light the way
As we grapple with the many concerns facing our modern society, it is imperative to invest in efficient and time-saving technology of all types. LEDs are one of these technologies. Indeed, they light the way to the farms of the future. They will have an enormously beneficial impact on agriculture by dramatically increasing crop production and putting food on every table more efficiently.
Have A Look Inside Large Plant Factory on JPFA Training Course
Plant factories, or vertical farms, are grabbing the headlines lately. Learn about them on our science-based practical online course--anytime at your convenience and anywhere in the world during the course period
Have you ever visited a plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL)? The Japan Plant Factory Association is now receiving applications for its 2021 Online Training Course on PFALs scheduled for Feb. 18-March 11. The course gives you the privilege of taking an exclusive look inside a large-scale, commercial PFAL in central Japan.
Plant factories, or vertical farms, are grabbing the headlines lately. Learn about them on our science-based practical online course--anytime at your convenience and anywhere in the world during the course period.
Besides introductory classes on the basics of PFALs, the course has the just mentioned PFAL virtual tour and the following other special content:
A lecture on phenomics and the potential of phenotyping
Hands-on technical training on PFAL business management
Tailored, further explanations on previous-course lectures,
Operational and hygiene management, future of PFALs in COVID-19 times (2020 Workshop)
Its introductory classes cover not only PFAL principles and the basics like photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, light environment and plant growth, nutrient solution and hydroponic cultivation, but also forthcoming technologies and PFAL business management.
The JPFA oversees a plant factory hub on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. The nonprofit organization has shifted from on-site to online training due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The first-rate lecturers of the coming course include Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus and former president of Chiba University, who is known as the father of plant factories, and Chieri Kubota, professor at the Ohio State University.
Along with lectures, the training course, run on a specified platform, encourages participants to interact each other and gives them a chance to join an online live question-and-answer session.
The course is available for anybody interested in PFALs--not only JPFA members but nonmembers as well. If you are curious, check here and apply now.
Apply Now
For more information
Japan Plant Factory Association
https://npoplantfactory.org/en/
https://npoplantfactory.org/information/news/2120/
https://npoplantfactory.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Renewed-Information-for-JPFA-2021-Online-Training-Course-on-Plant-Factories-with-Artificial-Lighting-PFALs-2021.1.20.pdf
Japan Plant Factory Association
The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.
Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to address issues concerning food, the environment, energy and natural resources.
The JPFA oversees plant factories on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. Also, it works on about 20 R&D projects and runs workshops and training courses.
How to Become a JPFA Member
Apply for JPFA membership here. For more information, visit the JPFA website or email us at training@npoplantfactory.org. We welcome your inquiries.
Price List for JPFA 2021 Online Training Course on PFALs
Want more online educational options?
Is AppHarvest the Future of Farming?
In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.
Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are red-hot right now, with investors clamoring to get into promising young companies.
In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.
Nick Sciple: One last company I wanted to talk about, Lou, and this is one I think it's -- you pay attention to, but not one I'm super excited to run in and buy. It was a company called AppHarvest. It's coming public via a [SPAC] this year. This vertical farming space. We talked about Gladstone Land buying traditional farmland. AppHarvest is taking a very different approach, trying to lean into some of the ESG-type movements.
Lou Whiteman: Yeah. Let's look at this. It probably wouldn't surprise you that the U.S. is the biggest global farm exporter as we said, but it might surprise you that the Netherlands, the tiny little country, is No. 2. The way they do that is tech: Greenhouse farm structure. AppHarvest has taken that model and brought it to the U.S. They have, I believe, three farms in Appalachia. The pitches can produce 30x the yields using 90% less water. Right now, it's mostly tomatoes and it is early-stage. I don't own this stock either. I love this idea. There's some reasons that I'm not buying in right now that we can get into. But this is fascinating to me. We talked about making the world a better place. This is the company that we need to be successful to make the world a better place. The warning on it is that it is a SPAC. So it's not public yet. Right now, I believe N-O-V-S. That deal should close soon. [Editor's note: The deal has since closed.] I'm not the only one excited about it. I tend not to like to buy IPOs and new companies anyway. I think the caution around buying into the excitement applies here. There is a Martha Stewart video on their website talking up the company, which I love Martha Stewart, but that's a hype level that makes me want to just watch and see what they produce. This is just three little farms in Appalachia right now and a great idea. This was all over my watchlist. I would imagine I would love to hold it at some point, but just be careful because this is, as we saw SPACs last year in other areas, people are very excited about this.
Sciple: Yeah. I think, like we've said, for a lot of these companies, the prospects are great. I think when you look at the reduced water usage, better, environmentally friendly, all those sorts of things. I like that they are in Appalachia. As someone who is from the South, I like it when more rural areas get some people actually investing money there. But again, there's a lot of execution between now and really getting to a place where this is the future of farming and they're going to reach scale and all those sorts of things. But this is a company I'm definitely going to have my radar on and pay attention to as they continue to report earnings. Because you can tell yourself a story about how this type of vertical farming, indoor farming disrupts this traditional model, can be more efficient, cleaner, etc. Something to continue paying attention to as we have more information, because this company, like you said, Lou, isn't all the way public yet. We still got to have this SPAC deal finalized and then we get all our fun SEC filings and quarterly calls and all those sorts of things. Once we have that, I will be very much looking forward to seeing what the company has to say.
Whiteman: Right. Just to finish up along too, the interesting thing here is that it is a proven concept because it has worked elsewhere. The downside of that is that it needed to work there. Netherlands just doesn't have -- and this is an expensive proposition to get started, to get going. There's potential there, but in a country blessed with almost seemingly unlimited farmland for now, for long term it makes sense. But in the short term, it could be a hard thing to really get up and running. I think you're right, just one to watch.
Light Company LumiGrow Has Ceased Operations
The company has not shared specific information as to why operations have been ceased.
The lighting company LumiGrow has ceased operations and is now out of business.
LumiGrow was a company focused on LED lights, and it hit the headlines at the beginning of 2020 for the purple glow that illuminated the sky over Navajo County, Arizona, which was coming from a cannabis greenhouse where LumiGrow LEDs were installed.
The company has not shared specific information as to why operations have been ceased. For sure, the global pandemic together with the fierce competition in the LED sector of horticulture have had an impact.
Publication date: Tue 2 Feb 2021
Lumileds Addresses Industry Growth With LUXEON 3030 HE Plus Horticulture
The new LEDs are engineered for robust sulfur protection – critical for long and stable lifetime in warm and humid environments
Broad spectrum white LEDs are widely available
San Jose, CA – February 2, 2021 – Lumileds today announced immediate high quantity availability of its LUXEON 3030 HE Plus Horticulture LEDs. Based on the company’s leading 3030 LED portfolio and characterized for horticulture, the new options offer high PPF/W, broad-spectrum white light that enables grow lights that are productive and economical.
“In horticulture applications growers are looking for time tested, top performance and reliability, the LUXEON 3030 HE Plus Horticulture delivers the photons that enable consistent and high growth output with the highest of efficiencies,” said Mei Yi, Product Manager.
The new LEDs are engineered for robust sulfur protection – critical for long and stable lifetime in warm and humid environments – and are specified for horticulture at 65mA and Tj= 25°C with CCTs from 2200K to 6500K and CRI of 70, 80 or 90. When matched with LUXEON Deep Red and Far Red options a complete horticulture illumination solution is at hand.
LUXEON 3030 HE Plus Horticulture is available in manufacturing quantities today. It offers a 0.1V forward voltage bin, quadrant color bin inside 3SDCM, and a maximum drive current of 480mA. Detailed product information can be found at https://lumileds.com/3030Horticulture.
About Lumileds
For automotive, mobile, IoT, and illumination companies that require innovative lighting solutions, Lumileds is a global leader employing more than 7,000 team members operating in over 30 countries. Lumileds partners with its customers to push the boundaries of light.
To learn more about our portfolio of lighting solutions, visit lumileds.com.
For further information, please contact:
Steve Landau, Director Marketing Communications
+1 408 710 4090
Boost Operational Efficiencies With Lighting Control System
Signify has expanded its GrowWise Control System, allowing for higher levels of automation and reducing manual labor and operational costs
"Signify’s expanded GrowWise Control System helps growers boost operational efficiencies. This allows for full dimming for Philips toplighting compact in greenhouses. Besides, it enables growers to plan and automate light recipes one year ahead and to control the grow lighting through their climate computer or greenhouse management system. This will result in lower manual labor costs and improved operational efficiency," the company announces.
Signify has expanded its GrowWise Control System, allowing for higher levels of automation and reducing manual labor and operational costs. This can be achieved by automating the lighting planning for their crop’s full growth cycle, up to one year ahead. The software tool brings dynamic lighting to greenhouses and vertical farms and fits seamlessly with modern climate computers and greenhouse management systems. This enables growers to automatically adjust light levels to maintain consistent levels on cloudy days, save energy on sunny days and simulate sunrise and sunset throughout the day or season.
Growers, like the Italian vertical farm, Planet Farms, and the Belgium greenhouse, De Glastuin, are already using the expanded system providing additional value within their growing facility.
“Using the GrowWise Control System is ideal for us,” says Luca Travaglini, co-founder of Planet Farms. “We want to automate as many aspects of our operations as possible to become more cost efficient. Now we can easily create custom light recipes and set them to run year-round to provide the right light recipe with the right light intensity at the right time throughout the crop’s growth cycle. By automating our full light strategy during the growth cycle, for the whole year, we can run our operations very efficiently and keep our manual labor costs low. That makes it easier for us to maintain consistent quality as we scale up our production.”
The demand for the GrowWise Control System is increasing for greenhouse applications as well. “The lighting can be used much more efficient, since it gives us the flexibility to reduce light levels at any moment we need to,” says Wouter de Bruyn, owner at De Glastuin. Lettuce grower De Glastuin is using the GrowWise Control System to control the Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact grow lights via its climate control system. “The climate computer is equipped with a daylight sensor that sends actual light measurements to the GrowWise Control System so we can adapt our light levels automatically to ensure an even light level throughout the day and season. This results in a continuous high-quality crop. In case the electricity is the limiting factor, we are still able to use the LEDs evenly for the whole greenhouse in a lesser intensity.”
“Dynamic lighting in a greenhouse is the next step in improving the cost-efficiency and quality for the cultivation process,” says Udo van Slooten, Business leader Horticulture LED solutions at Signify. “It allows growers to effortlessly maintain a consistent level of light throughout the day to produce the best possible crops. The system compensates for cloudy weather and creates a more controlled growing environment for your crop.”
Signify’s Expanded GrowWise Control System Helps Growers Boost Operational Efficiencies
Signify has expanded its GrowWise Control System, allowing for higher levels of automation and reducing manual labor and operational costs
Signify has expanded its GrowWise Control System, allowing for higher levels of automation and reducing manual labor and operational costs. This can be achieved by automating the lighting planning for their crop’s full growth cycle, up to one year ahead. The software tool brings dynamic lighting to greenhouses and vertical farms and fits seamlessly with modern climate computers and greenhouse management systems. This enables growers to automatically adjust light levels to maintain consistent levels on cloudy days, save energy on sunny days and simulate sunrise and sunset throughout the day or season.
Growers, like the Italian vertical farm, Planet Farms, and the Belgium greenhouse, De Glastuin, are already using the expanded system providing additional value within their growing facility.
“Using the GrowWise Control System is ideal for us,” says Luca Travaglini, co-founder of Planet Farms. “We want to automate as many aspects of our operations as possible to become more cost efficient. Now we can easily create custom light recipes and set them to run year-round to provide the right light recipe with the right light intensity at the right time throughout the crop’s growth cycle. By automating our full light strategy during the growth cycle, for the whole year, we can run our operations very efficiently and keep our manual labor costs low. That makes it easier for us to maintain consistent quality as we scale up our production.”
The demand for the GrowWise Control System is increasing for greenhouse applications as well. “The lighting can be used much more efficient, since it gives us the flexibility to reduce light levels at any moment we need to,” says Wouter de Bruyn, owner at De Glastuin. Lettuce grower De Glastuin is using the GrowWise Control System to control the Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact grow lights via its climate control system. “The climate computer is equipped with a daylight sensor that sends actual light measurements to the GrowWise Control System so we can adapt our light levels automatically to ensure an even light level throughout the day and season. This results in a continuous high-quality crop. In case the electricity is the limiting factor, we are still able to use the LEDs evenly for the whole greenhouse in a lesser intensity.”
“Dynamic lighting in a greenhouse is the next step in improving the cost-efficiency and quality for the cultivation process,” says Udo van Slooten, Business leader Horticulture LED solutions at Signify. “It allows growers to effortlessly maintain a consistent level of light throughout the day to produce the best possible crops. The system compensates for cloudy weather and creates a more controlled growing environment for your crop.”
For more information about the GrowWise Control System and our Philips-banded horticulture lighting, visit our horticulture pages.
Or please contact:
Global Marcom Manager Horticulture at Signify
Daniela Damoiseaux
Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69
E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com
About Signify
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2019 sales of EUR 6.2 billion, we have approximately 37,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.
Understanding The Key Tech Required In Vertical Farming
Staff Reporter Jan 25, 2021
Vertical farming involves; growing crops indoors under artificial temperature and lighting conditions. This technology focuses on increasing productivity in small places. It utilizes soil-free methods like aeroponics, aquaponics, and hydroponics. Read on to understand the main tech you need for your vertical farm.
(Photo : Valcenteu Wikimedia Commons)
Lighting systems
Covered agriculture, which is the traditional method of farming uses HPS (High-Pressure Sodium) vapor lamps. These units generate a warm light, which appears as an orange-yellow glow in areas with many glasshouses. LED technologies have evolved, becoming more energy-efficient and cheaper.
LED vertical farming lighting dictates the next generation controlled environment agriculture (CEA). While HPS lamps generate orangey-yellow light, LEDs can be designed to generate light in any color or combination of choice. Today, more LED lights are specially designed for the CEA industry.
Researchers are working with manufacturers to manufacture crop-specific lights to enhance photosynthesis, guarantee crop quality, and boost yield production. When growing crops in an indoor environment without a natural or external light source, the quality and quantity of artificial vertical farming lighting for your crops is critical.
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Controlling the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is crucial in managing a vertical farm. Remember, the HVAC can influence the yield, health, and quality of your crops. Smart regulating systems are crucial for the management and maintenance of ventilation, temperature, and humidity. Installing smart enabled HVAC systems that can be incorporated into a general control system is critical.
Nutrients
Controlled environment agriculture allows farmers to regulate the frequency, levels, and nutrients they use on the crops. Commercial nutrient mixes are not only readily available but are also easy to use for your vertical farm. However, you can improve the quality of your crops and increase production with a crop-specific nutrient mix. Research and knowledge help you produce efficient nutrient mixtures for your vertical farm.
Control Systems
Control systems audit, and manage all elements of a controlled environment. Doing so allows the farmer to make proper decisions for crop-specific growing conditions. Advanced control systems give farmers crucial data on crop health, development, and the environment.
With this data, the farmer can develop different features of the growing conditions. Further, control systems facilitate the implementation of nutrient mixes and light that can change throughout growing, light intensity, and delivery of supplementary C02 (carbon dioxide).
Future vertical farms should come with integrated control systems and inline crop monitoring systems to facilitate disease management. These components will help boost conditions, enhance energy-efficiency, and increase yield.
Growing Systems
Vertical farming involves various hydroponic systems, making soil and other growing media unnecessary. Farmers can use different substrates, as seen below.
NTF (Nutrient Film Technique)
The NTF comprises narrow troughs or channels where flowing small amounts of nutrient and water solution drains to the bottom of the troughs. This process creates a thin film. Plants are hanged over the trough in net containers. They receive small amounts of the nutrient solution often per day.
The fine nutrient film solution facilitates watering of the rear of the roots without getting soaked. The top part of the roots stays dry and consumes oxygen. The nutrient film technique is ideal for baby greens, salads, leaves, strawberries, and herbs.
Flood and Ebb System
The flood and ebb system is also known as drain and flood. It involves the use of trays filled with a nutrient solution for a few minutes before the water drains. The plant roots are swayed around the nutrient solution. Using flood like circumstances allows the plants to consume nutrients and oxygen, making them healthy and strong. The flood and ebb system is ideal for producing microgreens.
Finally
Vertical farming allows farmers to grow crops throughout the year, and this facilitates maximum crop production. This technology does not rely on the weather. You can grow your crops with the help of LED lighting. Apart from being eco-friendly, vertical farming allows you to farm within limited spaces, as is the case in cities.
IPO Planned To Improve Revenues Indoors
Light Science Technologies has gained the funding from Intuitive Investments Group plc (IIG), ahead of going public on the London Stock Exchange in the next six months.
8-01-2021| Business Live
“We believe that there is no better time to be involved in both agritech and medtech." A company which makes technology to improve indoor crop yields has received a £1 million investment ahead of a planned IPO.
Light Science Technologies has gained the funding from Intuitive Investments Group plc (IIG), ahead of going public on the London Stock Exchange in the next six months.
The business, based on the Hilton Business Park, Derby, provides lighting and plant growing and monitoring technology for agriculture in partnership with university research teams.
Its agricultural tech can be used in three main indoor settings – vertical farming (where crops such as tomatoes are grown in vertically stacked layers), greenhouses and medicinal plants.
Its patent-pending, sustainable light unit combines interchangeable LEDs, power and technology to help reduce costs and generate maximum yields over 25 years.
Its real-time monitoring and control technology can also be used to link technicians, farmers, and facility managers with their crops to provide instant production data.
Management said that with better light quality and energy savings, its light, science and technology products increase cycles.
It also supplies technology to clients in the electronics, audio, automotive, AI technology and pest control sectors.
The move to become a publicly listed company follows significant investment in its team and operations over the past few years which, the business said, has “brought to market a fully updateable, bespoke and intelligent lighting solution that provides optimal yield”.
The company is also due to launch its own in-house growth and laboratory service in the spring, focusing on plant growth and performance to help farmers with their crops.
Chief executive Simon Deacon said: “We believe that there is no better time to be involved in both agritech and medtech as two rapidly expanding sectors which are going to be responsible for spearheading some of the most significant global developments over the coming decade and beyond.
“IIG’s investment is not just a reflection of its commitment to LSTH as a fast-growing business backed by almost 30 years’ expertise in light technology but also of its awareness of the importance in achieving a better, more sustainable approach to agricultural production as well as pioneering potential life-saving solutions in digital health innovation.”
Light Science Technologies is IIG’s first investment following its own successful IPO and admission to AIM in December, as it seeks to attract investors with its life sciences portfolio.
IIG chairman David Evans said: “LSTH has the key ingredients for success; it has an excellent management team, a deep knowledge of the light spectrum and the application of that knowledge to areas where substantial growth can be obtained.
“I am personally excited about the potential diagnostic applications in the digital health sector, such as non-invasive haemoglobin measurement, as well as the developments in vertical farming technology that will underpin the long-term growth of LSTH.”
The investment follows recent funding for Light Science Technologies from Innovate UK which will see it work over the next six months with Nottingham Trent University to develop a growing sensor and transmission node for vertical farms.
Photo: Light Science Technologies designs lighting, science and plant monitoring technology.
Source and Photo Courtesy of BusinessLive
Combining Hydroponic And Aeroponic In Vertical Farming
Growers are finding new ways to drive the efficiency up and the cost down, and one of these solutions is vertical farming.
Generally speaking, horticulture operations can be quite expensive to operate; yet, growers can rely on hundreds of years of knowledge to improve the efficiency, so that those costs go down. At the same time, indoor farming cannot rely on such knowledge, and it is not uncommon to see cultivation facilities with huge bills at the end of the month. As the industry matures, growers are finding new ways to drive the efficiency up and the cost down, and one of these solutions is vertical farming.
LED technology
Nowadays, LED technology has made a huge leap forward, and Alvis Ma, the CEO of GrowSpec claims they are the industry standard. “Growers generally make the switch from HPS to LED for three reasons: increased yield, improved cannabinoid, and terpene content, and energy efficiency,” he explains. Thus, LEDs allow for vertical cultivation, which has a host of benefits, especially when it comes to space optimization.
“The VetriAero Planter system uses a mobile planting rack that reduces the ‘required’ indoor grow space area and extends the plant cultivation space by multiple tiers, maximizing growth space, increasing the yield and thus the profit,” Alvis Ma points out. “And if a grower wants to use one rack only initially, other tiers can be added later on: the helves can be connected to one another so that growers can modify the VetriAero Planter system length according to the size of the room.”
A very peculiar feature of this system is the integration of both aeroponic and hydroponic methods. “Instead of growing in soil, the roots are suspended in mid-air and surrounded by oxygen,” he adds. “The plant roots get misted directly with a nutrient-dense solution that gets sprayed to the roots every 3-5 minutes. At the same time, the remaining liquid at the bottom of our container ensures that, in the event of an emergency, there is still enough nutrient-dense liquid to sustain your plants for up to 48 hours.”
“Commercial indoor cultivation operations can be very expensive,” says Alvis Ma with GrowSpec. “And if you look at the cost of the real estate, added on top of substantial
power bills and staffing requirements, it becomes critical to find a way to increase profit and reduce overhead costs.” Exactly to respond to such a demand, GrowSpec has developed the VertiAero Planter system, a new vertical growing system. “One of the primary reasons why vertical farming is so attractive for growers is the improved performance of current LEDs,” Alvis Ma continues. “This is something that could not happen back in the day, as HPS has been the go-to lights for decades, and they produce a lot of heat; generally speaking, the plants have to be placed a couple of feet away from light to stay safe and healthy.”
Controlling the environment
Indoor growing, especially vertical growing, requires a particularly efficient airflow system to guarantee healthy growth for the plants. This has direct consequences on the growing environment. “Maintaining optimum temperature, humidity, and air circulation is challenging for all cannabis operations,” Alvis Ma remarks. “But in vertical growing, there is even more variability in macro and micro environmental conditions, because more plants make control more difficult.
That’s why the GrowSpec VertiAero’s multi-layer airflow solution improves the airflow rate in the micro-environment of the plant canopy by maintaining consistent plant canopy temperature and humidity, reducing the cultivation potential of harmful pathogens, and increasing the rate of photosynthesis by evenly distributing CO2 over the plant canopy. The system utilizes various sensors to detect crucial data points such as moisture change, for instance.”
Although such a system might sound complicated to use, user-friendliness and easiness of use are very well implemented. “The VertiAero Planter system integrates intelligent control and touchscreen control system so that your business can save up exponentially on overhead costs,” Alvis Ma points out. “At our core, we operate according to the highest standard, combining this with technology that respects our planet.”
For more information:
GrowSpec
Yuxin Industry Zone, Shishan Town, Nanhai, Foshan, Guangdong, China
+86-15914220731
VIDEO: Daan Roosegaarde Uses "Light Recipes" To Show How Agriculture Could Be More Sustainable
Dezeen Magazine
Amy Frearson | January 18, 2021
Studio Roosegaarde has unveiled Grow, a 20,000-square-metre light installation designed to highlight the beauty of agriculture while also improving crop growth.
The Rotterdam-based studio, led by designer Daan Roosegaarde, used red, blue, and ultraviolet lights to transform a field into a dynamic artwork.
As well as creating a visual spectacle, the installation serves as a prototype for how certain "light recipes" can be used to increase plant growth and reduce the use of pesticides by up to 50 percent.
Grow is a 20,000-square-metre light installation in a Dutch field
The first ideas for the project came after an early morning visit to the farm. As a self-confessed urbanite, Roosegaarde told Dezeen he had spent very little time exploring the Netherlands' agricultural landscape, so was amazed to experience it first hand.
Despite being a relatively small country, the Netherlands is one of the world's largest producers of vegetables, second only to the United States, and has established itself as a pioneer of highly efficient farming techniques.
"We thought we should highlight the beauty of this agriculture," said Roosegaarde. "These vast fields feed us, but nobody sees it."
Lights turn the crops into a visual spectacle but also helps to improve growth
Shortly after, Roosegaarde became aware of advancements in photobiological lighting technology. Research suggests that certain combinations of light can not only strengthen plant metabolism but also create resistance to both pests and disease.
Although the technology has been used in greenhouses, Roosegaarde saw an opportunity to test its potential at a larger scale.
The "light recipe" combines specific types of red, blue, and ultraviolet light
"A specific ultraviolet light activates the defense system of plants. And what is interesting is that it works on all crops," the designer explained. "So we can reduce the use of pesticides."
Pesticides are known to have a significantly harmful effect on biological diversity, one of the pillars of sustainability. If the farming industry was able to reduce reliance on them, it would be of great benefit to the environment.
These lights can strengthen plant metabolism and create resistance to pests and disease
Studio Roosegaarde created Grow with high-density LEDs positioned at different points around the field.
The devices move up and down, distributing the light evenly across the field. As they move, they create dancing patterns that are hypnotic to watch. "It's very futuristic and also very romantic, in a way," suggested Roosegaarde.
Grow is the latest of several large-scale light installations Roosegaarde has created
The effect is similar to some of the other large-scale installations Roosegaarde has created in the past like Waterlicht, which mimicked the effect of the Northern Lights as a way to highlight a flood plain.
However, the designer sees Grow as a project with a bigger audience. His plan is to take it around the world, with different light recipes formulated to suit different crops.
The designer hopes to promote the role of the farmer as a hero
Roosegaarde's aim is to help to speed up the application of this science, but also to create a more universal appreciation for the important role of farmers, who he describes as heroes.
"I want to design things which make people curious about the future, not sad or mad," added Roosegaarde. "Light is my language. Light is not decoration, it's activation and it's communication."
Grow was commissioned by Rabobank, for the bank's ongoing artist-in-residence programme. The ambition is for the project to tour all 40 countries where the bank operates.
Read more: Design Lighting Netherlands Plants Farms Installations Studio Roosegaarde Technology
Vertical Farming’s Success Depends On The Cheapest Lightbulb
More than a decade ago, microbiologist Dickson Despommier floated the idea that nations with little arable land like the UAE could become self-reliant by growing food in skyscrapers with perfectly optimized artificial light and heat
The industry promised to tackle world hunger. But all it may end up delivering for now is expensive basil and perhaps some better quality marijuana.
January 16, 2021
Abu Dhabi’s giant Yas Mall isn’t the most obvious location for embracing nature. The sprawling complex, which houses a 20-screen cinema, leads to a Ferrari-themed amusement park.
At its heart is the Carrefour SA hypermarket. There’s no natural light or soil, yet floor-to-ceiling shelves offer shoppers herbs and microgreens grown right in the store. The fresh produce is a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates, which is almost all desert and imports 80% of its food. It’s marketed as a healthy way for customers to reduce the carbon emissions that would be generated transporting their groceries.
Carrefour grows herbs and microgreens such as arugula on shelves stacked floor to ceiling.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
More than a decade ago, microbiologist Dickson Despommier floated the idea that nations with little arable land like the UAE could become self-reliant by growing food in skyscrapers with perfectly optimized artificial light and heat. He called it vertical farming and argued that it could reduce world hunger and restore forests depleted by commercialized agriculture. It would also eliminate planet-warming emissions caused by plowing fields, weeding, and harvesting, as well as transportation.
In the years since millions of dollars have poured into companies trying to make Despommier’s idea a reality. Agriculture and forestry account for about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, while the hunt for new farming land to feed a growing global population has exacerbated deforestation. The prospect of solving both problems has enticed all sorts of investors, from tech entrepreneurs to restaurateurs and industry giants like Walmart Inc.
A record $754 million of venture capital was invested in the industry in the first three quarters of 2020, according to PitchBook data, a 34% increase from the whole of 2019. It’s drawn particular interest in Singapore and the UAE, whose governments have set goals to increase their national food production.
Mostly Leaves
Percentage of vertical farmers who say they grow a given crop
But vertical farming will have to get a lot cheaper to deliver on its lofty aspirations. While it frees up arable land and uses 95% less water, creating the ideal conditions for growing plants ends up consuming much more energy than traditional methods. Lights need to run for 12 to 16 hours a day and heating must be used in the winter. Miguel Povedano, chief operating officer at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, which runs the Carrefour franchise across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, says vertical farms cost 20% to 30% more than traditional ones.
Investors may not be able to live up to the hype they’ve created around the industry, and see their bubble burst before they have a chance to prove themselves, says Michael Dent, an analyst at IDTechEx. “If people are expecting world-changing progress and they don’t see it in the first two or three years — and what they see is high-quality salad — there’s a chance they might pull out their investment on the field and move on to the next thing.”
His analysis shows that most vertical farmers focus on herbs and salad greens because of their rapid and simple crop cycles. Microgreens in particular are popular with consumers concerned with healthy eating, rather than in deprived areas. They’re also more likely to grow herbs like cannabis than higher-calorific squashes or melons, which need more energy and water.
A migrant worker adjusts lettuce inside an indoor hydroponic farm operated by Green Container Advanced Farming LLC (GCAF) in a Carrefour SA grocery store in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
Rather than feeding the world’s poor with high-calorific foods, the microgreens and herbs grown by indoor farms are only going to be an option for the world’s wealthy elite for many years to come. Vertically farmed produce is far more expensive than conventionally farmed goods and even most organic produce, Dent found. For example, New York-based Bowery Farming’s indoor-produced kale mix is almost three times more expensive per pound than Whole Foods Market’s baby kale option, and its cilantro is more than five times more expensive than its Whole Food’s equivalent.
Emerald Technology Ventures investor Gina Domanig says she’s more interested in backing technologies that can reduce energy costs than the farms themselves. She compares indoor farming to desalination technology — the process of removing salt from seawater to provide fresh drinking water to people in water-stressed countries such as Israel.
“When desalination came out, everybody said it’s the holy grail for freshwater,” she says. “But desalination is really energy-intensive.” Vertical farming “might be an interesting thing” if there are technologies to make it less energy-intensive, she says, but right now “it’s not economic or environmentally sound in all areas.”
Salad greens require less energy and water to grow indoors than higher calorific foods.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
One option to cut costs is solar power, which has become the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world. In Germany, Farmers Cut has developed a combination of solar power plants and batteries so it pays less for power than it would connecting to the country’s grid, says Chief Executive Officer Henner Schwartz. The cost of storing energy can be as low as 10 or 11 euro cents per kilowatt in Germany.
“The energy issue is the key thing you need to crack,” he says. “We’re not claiming we can do carrots or watermelons any time soon at competitive prices, because it’s just not possible.”
In Abu Dhabi, Carrefour is trying to find a lightbulb supplier who can reduce its power use by as much as 65%, according to Povedano. “The kilowatts consumed in electricity is the major handicap,” he says. “It’s not only what you, as a company, want to do. It’s how you get the customer to substitute imported products for this technology, and the key is that it needs to be really affordable in terms of price.’’
— With assistance by Agnieszka de Sousa
Lead photo: LED lighting at an indoor hydroponic farm inside a Carrefour SA grocery store in Dubai.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
PODCAST: Season 2 Episode 19 - Nate Storey - Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer of Plenty
Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show co-founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO) of Plenty, Nate Storey
Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show co-founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO) of Plenty, Nate Storey. Plenty is on a mission to bring fresh, local produce to communities everywhere in a way that’s better for the environment.
In this episode, Harry and Nate discuss Plenty’s local field-scale indoor farms, the importance of having supportive infrastructure for vertical farming, and the work Nate is doing at Plenty to promote social responsibility and better food for all.
Year-Round Under-Glass Herb Cultivation In The Heart of Berlin
ECF Farmsystems uses innovative LED lighting solutions from Fluence for today’s herb cultivation in the heart of Berlin
Urban Farming Using LEDs From Fluence by OSRAM
ECF Farmsystems uses innovative LED lighting solutions from Fluence for today’s herb cultivation in the heart of Berlin. An innovative urban farm, ECF Farm Berlin (ECF Farmsystems) uses techniques for greenhouse and vertical cultivation of basil. The farm also uses aquaponics to naturally fertilize the crops, the produce of which then goes to Rewe, Germany's second-largest supermarket chain.
Less space and more production is the name of the game at ECF Farmsystems: comprehensive lighting solutions, from growing to greenhouse culture, enable the year-round production of uniform, aromatic basil plants.
Modern agriculture thanks to LED lighting / Image: Osram
Urban cultivation from seed to finished product
On-site propagation on VertiCCs, a racking system for vertical cultivation developed by ECF Farmsystems, increases production by 35% with the same footprint and optimized supply chain from seed to finished product.
The system also ensures consistent, uniform products. This is because ECF Farmsystems completely controls the entire growing cycle with less pest infestation and more accurate yield forecasting. In addition, the VYPR lighting systems offer higher-quality light spectra compared to conventional lamp systems. In addition, thanks to VYPR solutions, greenhouse growing is no longer seasonal, as efficient crop lighting provides uniform plants with consistent productivity, regardless of local weather.
With Fluence's RAZR Series, ECF Farmsystems achieves more effective operations and a 35% increase in production without the need for new construction or remodeling. By expanding vertical growing in the plant nursery, which eliminates the need to invest in additional growing space/facilities, ECF Farmsystems saves important emission costs. Propagation on VertiCCs systems with RAZR exposure allows ECF Farmsystems to control the entire growth cycle, better manage pests, and now calculate yields more accurately.
The new RAZR module will be available in January 2021.
For more information:
fluence.science/webinars
https://en.ecf-farm.de/
https://www.osram.com/os/applications/horticulture-lighting/index.jsp
Publication date: Thu 7 Jan 2021
Improving The Profitability And Economic Sustainability of Vertical Farms
“According to our research, most vertical farms are focused on lighting as a means of improving yield and growth speed,” says Rob Agterberg, Partner at Back of the Yard Algae Sciences (BYAS)
“According to our research, most vertical farms are focused on lighting as a means of improving yield and growth speed,” says Rob Agterberg, Partner at Back of the Yard Algae Sciences (BYAS).
“However, not enough vertical farms are looking at innovative ways of growing faster and better. Through our research, we’ve discovered that certain algal proteins improve the photosynthetic process and this results in a biostimulant effect and also improves taste, aroma, shelf life and nutrient value in vertically farmed crops such as lettuce."
The biostimulant research
Algae biostimulant
“At BYAS we’re creating ingredients such as alternative proteins, food colorants, made from microalgae. We have a patented, unique, zero-waste production process that enables us to extract food ingredients and alternative proteins from microalgae,” says Marc Peter Geytenbeek, Partner at BYAS. The company has been researching its biostimulant for vertical farming the past 2 years and recently published a scientific article outlining a number of breakthrough results. Currently, the biostimulant is being tested by vertical farming companies, including across the world.
Saving time and money
Rob states that about two-thirds of vertical farms are struggling to be economically viable, due to their high capital expenditures. He says: “Our research has shown that lettuce growth increases after adding the biostimulant. This increase results in up to 20% shorter growth cycles, saving on lighting and therefore energy and labor costs. We think that our biostimulant can be a huge boost to make vertical farms more economically sustainable.”
Sustainable works
“Surprisingly, the biostimulant can be made from algae grown on agriculture waste streams,” says Rob. The biostimulant is organic and GRAS (generally recognized as safe). What is particularly interesting to vertical farming is the fact that the biostimulant is an extract, so there is no need to administer a live bacteria or fungus into a hydroponic system. BYAS is committed to the circular economy - sustainable re-use of resources. This can be found in the production processes that are zero-waste and use very little energy.
For more information:
Back of the Yard Algae Sciences
Marc Geytenbeek, Partner
marc.geytenbeek@algaesciences.com
www.algaesciences.com
Rob Agterberg, Partner
rob.agterberg@algaesciences.com
www.algaesciences.com
Publication date: Wed 6 Jan 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
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