A GROUND breaking Redditch company has signed a deal with Netled Oy, a Finnish specialist in vertical farming systems and greenhouse lighting solutions.
Astwood Infrastructure, part of the Astwood Group, will supply equipment for industrial scale vertical farms to the company.
The agreement covers an initial four such 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 more than 10 million euros.
The vertical farming market has been predicted to grow to 10billion US dollars by 2025.
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 and Astwood Infrastructure will be working with firms like Netled to build a position as a market leading operator and supplier of vertical farm solutions.
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 with production volumes planned to be millions of heads of lettuces and herbs annually.
Closed vertical farming systems are protected from extreme weather conditions, pollution and lack of freshwater resources as the growing conditions are created artificially.
As a result, in areas like the Middle East, vertical farming makes cultivation possible where production of traditional vegetables is impossible, and the freshwater resources are limited, whilst also improving quality, production speed and yield.
Mike Capewell, CEO for Astwood Infrastructure, said: “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.”
Niko Kivioja, CEO, Netled Oy, confirmed: “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 be with our partner, Astwood Infrastructure. Together we have the possibility to serve the global market with an all inclusive project offering.”
