Commercialising vertical production systems for the sustainable intensification of UK agriculture

垂直生产系统的商业化促进英国农业的可持续集约化农业面临的一个关键挑战是到2050年在资源日益有限的环境中生产70%以上的粮食。Saturn Bioponics开发了一种创新的垂直生产系统，用于可持续集约化，通过将生长扩展到垂直维度来提高作物生产力，同时最大限度地减少资源投入。该技术完全可扩展，适用于家庭/城市种植应用，也适用于塑料/玻璃下的大规模作物生产。该技术与该领域的任何其他竞争技术相比具有明显的商业优势：“适当的技术”-模块化，可扩展，强大且易于操作;优化可用日光的使用;安装和运行成本低廉。迄今为止的试验结果表明，叶沙拉的密度是每足迹植物数量的3倍，并显示kg/m-2增加高达327%。Greenius项目将通过专注于袋装沙拉，整棵生菜和草莓，为大型高价值作物品种的商业化提供成果。这些市场目前在英国的总价值超过6.667亿英镑，全球前三大生产商的总价值为122亿美元。Saturn Bioponics将利用领先学者（来自兰开斯特环境中心和诺丁汉大学），农学家（和零售商/买家/种植者）与他们自己的工程，商业和农业专家的专业知识，以确保Greenius提供的结果以最佳速度和商业化的成功。Greenius使Saturn Bioponics能够解决商业化的关键障碍，并提供详细的证据证明该技术达到了所需的水平。重点领域是产品生存能力（资本成本、劳动力成本和资源效率/可持续性）和作物生存能力（为最终用户市场生产所需的质量规格和数量）。Greenius的第一阶段将使我们能够在足够大的规模上使用快速生长的季节性作物对生菜和袋装沙拉行业进行评估，从而明确实现产品和作物可行性所需的发展。第二阶段将根据第一阶段的评估采取行动，以优化产品，并开发作物特定的技术诀窍，以满足规格，最终形成最终产品的商业化“包装”和品种特定的“指导手册”。该项目将在提高生产水平、水和养分保护、能源效率、最佳人工照明（包括LED）和成本/效益以及最佳劳动效率方面取得成果。Saturn Bioponics旨在为商业种植者/农民提供显著的利益，在相同的占地面积上增加产量，降低生产成本，为种植者带来更大的利润率和/或为消费者提供更低价格的最终产品。该技术还使小面积覆盖区域和城市地区在经济上适合作物生产，帮助小农（特别是在冬季），并为食品生产部门的新中小企业创业创造机会。通过Greenius项目，Saturn Bioponics将提供一个增加粮食产量、减少环境影响的系统，从而为英国农业的可持续集约化做出重大贡献。

Commercialising Vertical Production Systems for the Sustainable Intensification of UK Agriculture.A key challenge for agriculture is to produce 70% more food by 2050 in an environment where resources are increasingly limited. Saturn Bioponics has developed an innovative vertical production system for sustainable intensification, increasing crop productivity by extending growth into the vertical dimension whilst minimising resource inputs. The technology is fully scalable making it suitable for domestic/urban growing applications through to large-scale crop production under plastic/glass. The technology has distinct commercial advantages over any other competing technologies in the sector: “Appropriate technology” – modular, scalable, robust and easy-to-operate; Optimises use of available daylight; Inexpensive to install and run. Trial results to date have a density of 3x the number of plants per footprint for leafy salads and shown kg/m-2 increases of upto 327%. The Greenius project will deliver results for commercialisation in large, growing crop sectors of high value varieties by focusing on bagged salads, whole lettuce and strawberries. These markets have a current combined value upwards of £666.7m per year in the UK and $12.2bn in top 3 producers globally. Saturn Bioponics will utilise the expertise of a consortium of leading academics (from Lancaster Environment Centre and University of Nottingham), an agronomist (and retailers/buyers/growers) in conjunction with their own engineering, business and agriculture specialists to ensure results are delivered by Greenius for optimal speed and success of commercialisation. Greenius enables Saturn Bioponics to tackle the key hurdles to commercialisation and provide detailed evidence that the technology delivers to the required level. Focus areas are product viability (capital costs, labour costs and resource efficiency/sustainability) and crop viability (producing the required quality specification and quantity for the end-user’s market). Phase 1 of Greenius will enable us to assess all the above on a sufficiently large scale using fast growing, seasonally appropriate crops for the lettuce and bagged salad sector, and consequently specify what development is required to realise product and crop viability. Phase 2 will act upon Phase 1’s assessment to optimise the product and develop the crop specific know-how to meet specifications, culminating in the commercialisation "package" of final product and variety specific "instruction manual". The project will deliver results on increased production levels, water and nutrient conservation, energy efficiency, optimal artificial lighting (including LEDs) and the costs/benefits, and optimal labour efficiency. Saturn Bioponics aim to deliver signficant benefits to commercial growers / farmers providing increased production on the same footprint with reduced production costs resulting in a greater profit margin for the grower and/or a lower priced end product for the consumer. The technology also makes small covered areas and urban sites economically viable for crop production, helping small farmers (especially in winter) and creating opportunities for new SME start-ups in the food production sector. Through the Greenius project , Saturn Bioponics will deliver a system for increased food production with reduced environmental impact, and so make a significant contribution to the sustainable intensification of agriculture in the UK.