The CEA and Indoor Farming (CEAIF) conference enters its sixth annual edition on 8 and 22 May 2026, with sessions spanning energy management, lighting optimisation, crop science, and post-harvest operations.
The online event, organised by Tech 4.0 in collaboration with the Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC) and UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT), is expected to draw more than 750 attendees from over 350 organisations.
© Jonathan Martin
Energy and lighting take centre stage
The 2026 programme gives notable weight to energy strategy and lighting, with confirmed sessions from Voltiris on solar integration, Signify on dynamic light recipes, Sollum Technologies on LED optimisation, and Heliospectra on light diffusion. Wageningen University and Research will address CO2 enrichment and its energy implications.
"When we look at what's happening across the sector, such as rising energy costs, margin pressure, the push toward more sustainable production, it shows that optimising energy use and light recipes has become central to operational viability," says Jonathan Martin, Director at Tech 4.0. "We're not pushing a theme; we're responding to what the industry is dealing with."
The gap between supplier capability and grower reality
Martin points to a persistent tension between what technology suppliers bring to market and what commercial growers are positioned to adopt. "Suppliers lead with innovation and capability. But what growers frequently tell us is that they need solutions that work within their existing infrastructure, don't demand new layers of complexity, and deliver a clear return on investment quickly."
"There's a lot of impressive technology out there, but growers operating under real margin pressure don't have the luxury of a long adoption curve. The most valuable conversations at CEAIF tend to happen when suppliers come with case studies and numbers, not just concepts."
Cross-functional decisions and a global audience
The 2026 attendee profile points to two trends. The first is the depth of R&D representation alongside commercial operators, in-house research teams at growing companies attending alongside academic institutions, which Martin reads as a sign that the sector is still actively solving fundamental problems rather than simply optimising established ones.
The second is geographic spread. The list includes organisations from the Gulf, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia, North America, and sub-Saharan Africa, among them NEOM, Khalifa University, and the Japan Plant Factory Association. "The mix of job titles, head growers, operations managers, and CEOs all attending together, suggests that decisions about technology adoption are increasingly cross-functional," Martin says. "It's not just the grower choosing a lighting system; it's a strategic conversation involving operations and leadership."
Registration
The event runs across two separate online days, with the platform opening on 1 May. Day one takes place on 8 May and day two on 22 May, both running on GMT+1/BST.
Sessions are available on demand for those unable to attend live. Registration is currently priced between GBP 0 and GBP 10 and is available at tech40.net/ceaif
For more information:
Tech 4.0
Jonathan Martin, Director
[email protected]
www.tech40.net/ceaif
