Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Japanese company starts building world’s largest vertical farm

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
September 2, 2015
in Environment, News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Recently, I’ve become quite a fan of vertical farms. The principle is simple: instead of growing things in fields, you cultivate plant life within a skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces. There are several advantages to this: they’re more productive for the space they use (about 100 times more productive), take 40% less power, 80% less food waste and 99% less water usage than outdoor fields. Now, Japanese, vertical farmer, Spread Co., has begun construction on the largest vertical farm in the world. The process will be entirely automated from seeding to harvesting and will produce 30,000 heads of lettuce per day.

Similar vertical farming techniques in use by Vancouver-based VertiCrop. PHOTO: Valcenteu, via Wikimedia Commons

The new Kyoto facility is expected to cost approximately 2 billion yen, or about $22 million, and open in 2017 – but it’s a lofty investment. Spread says it is able to recycle 98 per cent of the water used for cultivation, while cutting labour costs by 50 per cent through automation, using cheap LEDs for artificial lighting.

“There are water and food shortages due to extreme weather events accompanied by the increasing global population. Amid these problems, Spread has effectively managed energy through the vegetable factory business and has been working to lay the foundation for a more secure and sustainable society,” the company said.

Also, another advantage of this technology is that you can grow crops right in cities – therefore ensuring not only that people in the city can get fresh crops, but reducing transportation and therefore emissions. It’s also very suitable for areas with limited space for crops. It’s worth noting that the world produces way more food than we need, but much of it is wasted or produced in wrong places. Producing food in the right places is a key place to eat healthier, reduce environmental impact, and fight world hunger. The company hopes the new factory kick-starts further expansion, and personally, I hope more companies will follow their lead.

Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: vertical farm
ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Andrei's background is in geophysics, and he's been fascinated by it ever since he was a child. Feeling that there is a gap between scientists and the general audience, he started ZME Science -- and the results are what you see today.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.