Redditch tech company and Finnish firm join forces to build industrial scale vertical farms
Netled Oy, Finnish specialists in vertical farming systems and greenhouse lighting, has signed a deal with Redditch-based Astwood Infrastructure to supply equipment for industrial scale vertical farms.
The agreement covers an initial four farms, based predominantly in the UK, to be delivered over the next three years and provides a framework for serving global customers.
The total value of the agreement, including all project options, reaches over 10 million euros. The rapidly growing vertical farming market has been predicted to grow to 10 billion USD by 2025.
Niko Kivioja, CEO, Netled Oy, said: “We have been developing our technology for vertical farming for several years now. During this time the market for vertical farming has developed very fast. Now the technology and the economic figures are in the point, where industrial scale vertical farms beat the traditional ways to grow leafy greens. Green field projects require quite massive design work for infrastructure. We are more than happy to present our partner, Astwood Infrastructure. Together we have possibility to serve global market with an all-inclusive project offering.”
Netled designs, manufactures and sells world leading technology, equipment and related automation and software for vertical farming, where its vertical farm Vera is the most advanced vertical farming system in the world.
Astwood Infrastructure is a technology company with a focus on sustainable design and engineering.
For vertical farming, the company has developed its own brand, Vertivore, based on three years of research into the sector.
A pilot facility, the first under the framework, is built and is in continuous use in Redditch.
The long-term focus of Netled and Astwood is on industrial scale growing. The production volumes are planned to be millions of heads of lettuces and herbs annually.
Mike Capewell, CEO for Astwood Infrastructure, added: “We are incredibly excited about our new agreement with Netled Oy and the opportunity we now have in building and scaling a UK wide and potentially global vertical farm operation. Our pilot farm has shown some incredibly exciting results and we feel optimistic that we will be able to replicate this success at scale.
“As issues like rising import costs and climate change continue to advance, vertical farming systems will become critical to production, where, through the Vertivore brand, we will be able to grow sustainable, local and clean produce without being impacted by any external sources such as weather conditions or pollution.”
Closed vertical farming systems, like the one currently being piloted by Astwood, are protected from extreme weather conditions, pollution and lack of freshwater resources as the growing conditions are created artificially.
As a result, vertical farming makes cultivation possible in areas where production of traditional vegetables is impossible, and the freshwater resources are limited, while also improving quality, production speed and yield.
