The first indoor grow light control solution to optimise photosynthetic processes in plants by dramatically cutting energy costs

Project Information

FarMind

Grant agreement ID: 967978

DOI

10.3030/967978

Project closed

EC signature date 17 February 2021

Start date 1 February 2021

End date 31 January 2023

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 424 442,50

EU contribution

€ 2 397 109,75

Coordinated by

LAAVA TECH OU
Estonia

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FarMind (The first indoor grow light control solution to optimise photosynthetic processes in plants by dramatically cutting energy costs)

Reporting period: 2022-02-01 to 2023-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In the next two decades we will need 70% more food to feed the population of our planet. Traditional farming simply can’t give that to us - currently it is facing problems of land and air pollution, shortage of land, and logistical issues. Indoor farming is expected to provide 40% of global food production in the next few years. Only a small percentage of indoor farming companies are profitable, because they spend up to 60% of revenue on artificial lighting. Cutting energy consumption is the key enabler for making indoor farming profitable and sustainable. At Laava Tech, we have the answer.
FarMind is an entirely new grow light and data management solution based on AI, capable of adjusting the light emitted by each LED lamp of a farm to match the exact needs of each plant. It is the first all-in-one drop-in solution for vertical farm optimisation, thanks to our holistic approach and compatibility with all leading lighting systems on the market (after completion of the EIC Accelerator project). We will, for the first time, gather and leverage, the full spectrum of plant growth data (i.e. moisture, nutrient content, CO2 etc.), correlating all of these factors to increase yields. FarMind reduces the lighting energy bill of vertical farms by 60-75%, whilst increasing crop yields by up to 20%. Unlike other LED grow lights, which are hardware based and focus simply on light efficiency, FarMind offers a fully integrated system (including software and control unit) that adapts to the real photosynthetic need of the plant. FarMind will revolutionise the vertical farming industry by increasing its profitability by 50%.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

FarMind will enable vertical farms to reduce energy use and optimise plant growth to save up to 50% of production costs, allowing vertical farms to grow from niche solution to leading urban suppliers. Each plant and each plant growth stage have specific lighting needs to maximise photosynthesis. However, no existing vertical farm gathers and processes the data necessary to track indoor conditions to adapt them to an optimal photosynthesis regime. In addition to the cost of lighting, other parameters, such as nutrients, moisture and temperature are not currently effectively managed to maximise photosynthesis nor plant growth at any given time in a plant’s lifecycle. Tracking indoor conditions at the same time as monitoring the response of plants to these conditions is therefore key to optimising the future production of greens on our planet.
FarMind is designed to be an all-in-one plug and play solution for any vertical farm. We have applied a chemical engineering approach to solving a biological problem, relying on three fundamentally new concepts: 1) game-changing understanding of photosynthesis, 2) our proprietary control unit design, and 3) in-house created AI software. FarMind, tested in collaboration with tens of pilot partners, consists of a series of sensors and cameras installed throughout the farm that monitor the photosynthetic conditions (i.e. growth stage, nutrients, temperature, CO2, moisture) for every crop type within a vertical farm. The data gathered is then fed into our AI system, which creates a lighting strategy for each LED light of the farm. A control unit, connected to each LED, has been developed to finally instruct each target LED light to supply the plant with the exact lighting parameters, specifying amplitude, duration, period, filling (on-and-off ratio), power of pulse, sequence order of pulsation for red and blue channels that match the exact plant’s needs.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Our FarMind game-changing technology has the potential to bring vertical farming from niche market to mainstream solution, thanks to:
* 60-75% lower energy consumption than specialised grow lights.
* 0.2-1.2 higher PPE than mainstream grow lights, meaning that more power is converted into plant growth.
* Up to 20% increase in crop yields, together with improved morphological (colour, proportions) and organoleptic (taste, smell) properties, compared to standard LED grow lighting. This is achieved thanks to our fundamental understanding of photosynthesis and thus ability to harness optimal plant growth in line with dramatic energy savings. 
* FarMind arrives at a crucial time to cut up to 54% of CO2 emissions of vertical farms (based on the average European energy mix) through up to 60-75% lower energy use and thus create a fully sustainable and economically viable alternative to outdoor food production. Our expansion plan would allow us to reach 5.9 million m2 of farms with FarMind by 2027. This would save up to 4.7 billion cumulative kWh of electricity and ultimately prevent up to 636 kilo tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere from 2023 to 2027 (equivalent to burning 1.5 million barrels of oil).
* Transition to a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. FarMind will save vertical farmers up to € 1 billion (cumulative) through reduced energy consumption and increased yields from 2023 to 2027. This will enable vertical farming to profitably capitalise on its ability to produce up to 94% more crops on the same land area, up to 70% faster and using 95% less water than traditional outdoor farming. FarMind can make vertical farming truly scalable and thus allow it to meet the demand, of 70-75% of urban populations, for sustainably and locally produced food.
* 80 new green jobs created in Europe in-house and hundreds more as our customers’ facilities grow, helping to kickstart the post-COVID economic recovery in some of the worst-affected urban areas.

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