"Berlin is a long way for us, but people are interested in its startups"

Ikuo Hiraishi, managing director at Infarm Japan, is a serial entrepreneur and is running seed-focused funds. In 2016, he invested as an angel in the Berlin startup Infarm, and in 2020, he established Infarm Japan becoming its Managing Director. In January 2021, he accomplished its first launch in Asia…

New floor coating to increase PAR reflectance

Laticrete, a manufacturer of construction solutions for the building industry, has launched the Spartacote® High-Yield System with Lux Additive, a resinous coating system developed specifically to increase photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) reflectance of floor and walls by up to 56%. This is aimed to…

"We aim to expand conscioussness growing beyond earth"

YASAI is honored to be among the five winners of the Mars Habitat Challenge by Venturelab. "We aim to expand our consciousness & human life beyond earth. YASAI supports the development of circular systems for Mars and Earth," they say. This is why YASAI is focusing on creating circular food systems with…

British Tomatoes

Why LED grow lights offer the ideal solution for indoor tomato growing

British Tomato Fortnight is the ideal showcase for the world’s most popular fruit, and a reminder of its increasing appeal in the CEA sector. Tomato production has increased to 182 million tons in the past few years to match growing demand, making it one of the most important crops in the world. Demand…

Financial benefits of sourcing minerals from food waste

The use of food waste in soilless farms continues to emerge as a critical path to controlling and managing hydroponic cost. It also promises to deliver greater resource efficiency and a high waste-to-value ratio compared to mineral salts. And while this hasn’t always been the case, soilless farms now…

Awty school receives grant for carbon-neutral container farm

Teachers and students alike at The Awty International School are excited about the possibilities a carbon-neutral container farm brings to their campus. Awty received a $135,000 sustainability grant from the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club to implement the container farm that now provides fresh produce to…

In Your Area

UK: Vertical farming offers potential for Runcorn's eco-village

Last year, the Heath Business and Technical Park's owners SOG Group revealed plans to transform the site into a clean, green location where people "can work, live and play". The re-imagining was pitched as a "modern-day version of Port Sunlight" with the potential for radical features such as a monorail.…

Heliospectra

Hedging against climate uncertainty with controlled food growth

Last year, social distancing restrictions and border closures created harvest and supply chain issues for growers. While we all expected this year to be better, 2021 has begun with continued Covid-19 restrictions. At the same time, wildly unpredictable global weather has wreaked havoc on food production…

The effect of near-infrared radiation on plants

Look at any textbook on botany and you will find this maxim: plants respond to optical radiation in the spectral range of 280 nm to 800 nm. Period, end of discussion. The question is, how was this spectral range (sometimes referred to as Photobiologically Active Radiation, or PBAR) determined? This…