Spread Co., Ltd., Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., and ES-CON JAPAN Ltd. announced that they have entered into an investor agreement regarding the establishment of TSUNAGU Community Farm LLC to construct and operate vertical farms.
Expectations are high for vertical farms for stable production of pesticide-free agricultural products through precise control of the cultivation environment. Many hope that vertical farms will provide a solution for a number of problems, such as growing consumer needs for food safety, a decrease in farming population, as well as food supply instability, and price fluctuations due to extreme weather.
Based on the agreement, Spread Co., Ltd., Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., and ES-CON JAPAN will jointly establish the new company that will construct and operate vertical farms, in July 2021.
As its first initiative, the new company is planning to build an automated vertical farm "Techno Farm Fukuroi” in Fukuroi city (Shizuoka, Japan), which will be the world’s largest automated vertical farm, capable of producing 10 tons of lettuce per day. The construction will start in October this year, while the production start is planned for January 2024.
The integration of Chubu Electric Power's energy management know-how, ES-CON JAPAN’s real estate development capabilities, and Spread's cultivation technologies will allow for the efficient and stable production of pesticide-free, safe and clean vegetables.
Spread Co., Ltd., Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., and ES-CON JAPAN aim to solve the issues affecting food and agriculture through vertical farming, while actively utilizing renewable energy and effectively using CO2 in the cultivation process to achieve a sustainable society and the delivery of SDGs through decarbonization.
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