Vertical farming on Aalto University campus – Arctic Farming into collaboration with restaurant chain Factory
A vertical farming module developed by Arctic Farming inside the dining hall of restaurant Factory in the Aalto University campus in Espoo, Finland. CEO of Arctic Farming Oliver Rotko (left) is introducing the farming module to the General Manager of Ravintotalot Oy Matti Karvonen (right).
ONLY 3 METERS BETWEEN FARM-TO-KITCHEN. This is how far fresh herbs and salads used by restaurant Factory have to travel at the Aalto University campus in Otaniemi. Factory Otaniemi, a lunch restaurant operating in the startup hub known as A Grid, and which was recently ranked for the best lunch in the city of Espoo, grows its own fresh herbs, leafy greens and berries in it’s dining hall literally 3 meters from the kitchen. These crops are grown inside a closed module about the size of a standard fridge. This new vertical farming technology grows food fully autonomously using a closed-loop system which optimises the growing environment for the plant grown.
This fully automatic vertical farming appliance, developed by a Finnish AgriTech company Arctic Farming, has been designed for the Foodservice, wholesale and retail industries and it allows businesses to grow their own ingredients inside their own premises regardless of the season or their location. This technology grows fresh herbs, leafy greens and berries significantly faster compared to conventional agriculture while saving around 95 % of the water needed in field farming. Because this technology grows food inside and in an enclosed and artificial environment, there is no need for pesticides, and the produce is ready to be used straight out of the system.
By growing ingredients in their own premises, restaurants like Factory Otaniemi are able to offer their customers added value with fresh produce that have been harvested from minutes to just a few hours before being served. Factory Otaniemi was recently voted as the best lunch restaurant in Espoo.
“This is a very interesting collaboration for us. In the lunch restaurant segment, choosing the right partners to work with is extremely important. Herbs that we grow using indoor vertical farming are of high quality and full of taste, with the taste being the most important thing for us in the food business. It can’t get more fresh than this. This vertical farming unit also fits well with our interior design and it gives our customers a concrete visual tool to see how our ingredients are grown.”
Matti Karvonen – General Manager of Ravintotalot Oy
Vertical farming is a rapidly growing technology based method for food production that grows plants in multiple layers in carefully controlled indoor spaces. Instead of using sunlight, the plants get their energy and taste from specialised LED lights that have been optimised for fast plant growth. Vertical farming can be done in greenhouses or in any indoor space where temperature and humidity can be controlled. Because vertical farming grows plants upwards, with techniques ranging from stacked shelves to inclined growing walls, it can produce multiple times the amount of produce per square meter when compared to conventional agriculture. The goal for this collaboration with Factory Otaniemi is to test the automation and production efficiency of this new vertical farming system in a lunch restaurant environment.
“By bringing food production inside our customer’s premises we are able to offer the end-users the freshest and highest quality produce on the market with a taste unlike anything available on the store shelves. Unlike with traditional store-bought produce, our customers do not produce any waste from product packaging, nor do we generate any carbon emissions from logistics that would normally be generated from last-mile delivery. And because the ingredients are grown just 2 meters from the kitchen, our customers can harvest just the amount of plants they need while leaving the rest of the plant to grow further. This allows us to minimise the amount of waste.”
Oliver Rotko – CEO of Arctic Farming
Oliver Rotko from Arctic Farming harvesting fresh basil for Factory Otaniemi moments before lunch is served.
The founders of Arctic Farming believe that vertical farming will enable large consumer centres to bring food production right next to the consumers. This would allow large cities to lower the amount of waste and carbon emissions linked to the production and distribution of food. The founders of Arctic Farming believe that indoor vertical farming projects like the one at Factory Otaniemi will increase in numbers as the technology matures and more stakeholders learn about the benefits of the technology. The CEO of Arctic Farming comments on the benefits of vertical farming:
“It has been well known for a long time that conventional agriculture in its current form is no longer sustainable. Alongside the obvious environmental issues, the last few years have shown that conventional agriculture is highly susceptible to the effects of climate change and other global crises. This volatility is especially strong in countries like Finland that are dependent on global logistics and the availability of produce in the global markets. Technologies like indoor vertical farming offer countries like these an opportunity to decouple themselves from the global food production markets by increasing their own domestic production.”
More information
Phone: +358 50 313 5937
Email: oliver.rotko@arcticfarming.fi