At first glance, it looks like an ordinary vertical farm, which is what Koen Vangorp of MechaTronix and Kim Vancauwenberghe of Colruyt Group Smart Technics stand for. Strawberry plants, purple light, watering, and ventilation, meanwhile, all very ordinary. Yet there is more to it. The new CoolGrow CV VF was developed specifically with an eye on less energy consumption and more production. “We are convinced of the potential of vertical farming, but we also see that operational costs and installations need some changes to be sustainable,” says Kim. “That’s been achieved with the CoolGrow VF.”
Costs down, yield up
The profitability of vertical farms is under pressure. High energy consumption and relatively limited production figures mean that skeptics have already all but written off the idea of vertical farming as hobby projects for the happy few. And yet Colruyt Group sees the potential of vertical farming. A few years ago, the retailer was looking for a party to ensure that the costs of vertical farms would go down significantly and the yields up.
Contrary to what many people know, there is a broad concern, with a long tradition of productivity, behind the Colruyt Group supermarket chain. “And sustainability is one of the pillars we stand for as a whole company. That involves our stores, but also what we save beyond the store floor: Our packaging, our logistics solutions, energy management, and also our energy holding company Virya Energy, with which we develop renewable energy, for example. And then, we look even more for solutions on how to use this energy smartly and make the food chain more sustainable. That’s how we ended up with vertical farms.”
She emphasizes that Colruyt Group’s goal is to make our food chain more sustainable together with growers, making available the necessary investments and access to land, but also certainly the latest techniques…
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www.horti-growlight.com/en-gb/we-are-convinced-of-the-potential-of-vertical-farming
