Vertical farm could feed animals at UK zoo

Vancouver, Canada-based Valcent Products (OTC: VCTPF) is completing the initial pilot plant for its vertical farming technology at the Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon, England.

The system is expected to be operational within the next month, producing herbs, fruits and vegetables about a month later.

Valcent Managing Director Chris Bradford said there’s no payment being made or profit-sharing as a result of the working relationship. The zoo is contributing the land, and Valcent the technology and building, with both receiving the benefits, he said.

“First it enriches the lives of the animals by giving them fresh produce,” Bradford told the Cleantech Group. “Second, it’s enabling us to gather data on growth rates of different crops, water and nutrient uptake, and all types of things that we need to have to persuade other people inquiring about the system that it can produce the goods for them.”

With the population expected to increase by 3 billion by 2050, and with 80 percent of available farmland already in use, vertical farms could do for agriculture what the skyscraper did for office space, proponents say.

Columbia University Professor Dickson Despommier is credited with developing the idea of vertical farming in 1999. Despommier told the Cleantech Group last year that growing food in a 30-story building that encompasses one New York City block could supply a balanced diet for 50,000 people—the same amount of food currently produced on 588 acres of land (see Vertical farms for food and restoration).

The Valcent system is trying to prove its technology on a much smaller scale—about 100 square meters, which is the spare room the zoo had available onsite, Bradford said. A typical Valcent commercial system, dubbed VertiCrop, would be about 500 square meters and cost £200,000 to £250,000 ($327,000 to $409,000), depending on the types of crops and the degree of automation of the facility, and not including land preparation or the physical building. The company’s technology was developed by Glen Kertz, the former CEO and now a technical consultant.

The VertiCrop system is expected to supply the zoo with herbs such as parsley and oregano, fruits such as cherry tomatoes and strawberries, and vegetables including lettuce and spinach. The produce is expected to provide the most benefit to the primates, but will also help feed the reptiles, birds, and big cats that reside at the Paignton Zoo, said spokesman Philip Knowling.

"The animals will benefit across the board," he said. "The only ones that won't benefit will probably be the crocodiles."

Knowling said the vertical food system could offset some of the zoo’s £200,000 annual food cost, but he said it's too early to tell how big the impact could be.

"What we're saying is this facility is a plant laboratory, and we're going to find out just how good it is when it's up and running," Knowling said. "It's a public test bed, so our visitors who come to the zoo can see how it works."

See the system here »

Vertical farms hold the promise of year-round crop reduction with round-the-clock light that speeds growth rates. The indoor farms would be protected from inclement weather and reduce the footprint of farms because crops would be planted on multiple levels, potentially slowing deforestation.

Produce could also be grown close to points of consumption, which could reduce the use of transportation fuels. Additionally, proponents say the systems could more effectively use water and nutrients because there would be no losses to surrounding land, and fewer pesticides would be used because conditions could be better controlled.

However, the concept hasn’t been proven, and critics say the need for artificial lighting and heating would make vertical farming cost prohibitive. Bradford said data out of the lab shows that VertiCrop is financially feasible, and he expects the Paignton Zoo pilot to further verify the economics.

“This is a major turning point for us because, up until now, most data we have generated has been research data or figures from universities, and we haven’t had a practical tool until this unit,” Bradford said.

Bradford said Valcent’s system can produce 20 times the yield of traditional farming using the same space and 5 percent of the water. Its conveyor-belt system rotates plants so they receive equal exposure to light, airflow, water and nutrients. The system can be automated through computers so that one person can operate it, reducing labor costs. And any excess water and nutrients can easily be recycled back into the system, Bradford said.

“In particular certain climates like the Middle East—where water is in extremely short supply, and they don’t have the soil types to grow certain crops—this is of special interest,” Bradford said. Nearly half its customer inquiries have been in the Middle East, he said.

Valcent has also submitted a bid to grow vegetables for Masdar City, the zero-emission city of 50,000 being built in Abu Dhabi by the Masdar Initiative (see Abu Dhabi, the next cleantech hub?). Plans for Masdar City include renewable energy and sustainable agriculture (see $50M solar plant comes online to power Masdar City construction).

Valcent’s system has some limitations, including root crops and large tomatoes, Bradford said. The company is trying to develop a way to grow carrots and improve the growth rates of fruit.

Valcent Products has 12 employees in its Cornwall, England, office, operating as the subsidiary Valcent Products EU. The company also has five employees in El Paso, Texas, where it operates VAT, a joint venture with Global Green Solutions developing algae bioreactor technology.

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