A consortium of four British companies, comprising UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT), Intelligent Growth Solutions Ltd, RheEnergise and James Hutton Institute has received a grant from the UK Government to advance the development of low-carbon and low-cost food production by co-locating renewable energy with vertical farms. 

Courtesy of V-FAST.

The V-FAST consortium’s £488,000 project will explore how co-locating RheEnergise’s HD Hydro Energy Storage system with vertical farms can support a low-emission route to growing protein-rich crops in a controlled environment.

Last year, V-FAST - Vertical Farming And Storage Technologies – started investigating sites in Scotland’s Central Belt for the location of Scotland’s next generation of hectare+ scale vertical farms, powered by 100 percent renewables and using RheEnergise’s High-Density Hydro energy storage system.  These farms would provide locally produced fresh foods (salads and fruits) to over 60 percent of the Scottish population and help meet the Scottish Government’s ambitions to produce more homegrown fruit and vegetables.  These site investigations in Scotland continue.

Now, with the Innovate UK and BBSRC funding as part of the Novel Low Emission Food Production Systems competition, V-FAST will broaden the area for its site feasibility studies to across the UK, using GIS to identify and rate suitable locations for vertical farms that are co-located with renewables and High-Density Hydro energy storage.  As part of the project, V-FAST will also undertake crop trials to establish optimal climate recipes in terms of their energy efficiency relative to produce metrics (e.g. protein per kWh or kg of CO2e).

“We are delighted that Innovate UK and BBSRC recognise the value and huge potential of our work” said Mark Horler, Chairman of UKUAT. “Each new V-FAST vertical farm would provide high quality food at a lower cost than can be achieved by a typical indoor farm drawing energy from the local grid. Supplying lower cost food, at a time when everyone is concerned with inflation, is our main objective.”

The funded consortium is itself part of a wider collaboration which also includes Vertegrow, Light Source Technologies, LettUs Grow and Sprung Structures.

Stephen Crosher, RheEnergise’s CEO, added that one hectare scale vertical farm can provide premium fresh produce for a year for a town of 10,000 homes and one RheEnergise project can provide the energy storage needs for a town of the same size.

“Each site would host wind, solar, energy storage and vertical farming all in one place, often utilising exactly the same footprint to maximise the efficiency of land use” said Mr Crosher. “Furthermore, V-FAST can utilise lower quality land which is not ideal for traditional farming.”

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V-FAST