Vertical farming — the cultivation of food in multi-story greenhouses — is a rapidly growing approach to food production. After all, ensuring a sustainable food supply with new farming approaches is key to ensuring humanity thrives in the coming decades. Experts estimate that the world’s population will grow to 9.7B people by 2050, and food demand with it. Unfortunately, many traditional approaches to food production contribute to environmental issues; climate change is causing more frequent crop failures; and political conflicts regularly affect supply chains around the globe.
“Vertically grown microgreens are one of the keys to solving the challenges of global nutrition in the future,” says cofounder and CEO of Ultragreens Cristian Tudor. Ultragreens partnered with HELUKABEL for their designs’ cabling in part because their team required a responsive partner with local presence.
Addressing many of these issues is vertical farming — the cultivation of plant-based foods within closed multi-story greenhouses. Vertical farming requires less land than traditional approaches for massive efficiencies and the ability to farm even in urban areas. What’s more, plants are protected from extreme weather and pests.
A pioneer in this industry, Romanian startup Ultragreens relies on wire and cable systems from HELUKABEL for the reliable transmission of power, signals, and data in their automated indoor farms. Founded in 2014, the company supports the growth of food closer to its points of sale. To do this, Ultragreens relies on compact greenhouses that can be directly placed in supermarkets, for example. In fact, Ultragreens also plans and implements so-called green hubs — huge vertical indoor farms to be operated by nationwide wholesalers and retail chains. To optimize transport costs and reduce environmental impacts, the green hubs are often located in the immediate vicinity of retailers’ logistics centers.
Vegetables, salads, herbs, and seedlings (microgreens) can grow in vertical greenhouses: These are young vegetables that grow up to ten centimeters high and can only be harvested after one to two weeks. Their high vitamin and mineral content make these plants real superfoods. In addition, the short production process enables consistently high yields at any time of year.
Several green hubs are already operating successfully in Romania, and Ultragreens recently announced its entry into the Bulgarian market. The vertical greenhouses are modern and fully automated: The plants grow under precisely calibrated LED light and without soil in so-called hydroponics, where they are supplied with all the necessary nutrients through special substrates. Irrigation, ventilation, temperature, and many other factors are precisely regulated by computer systems and continuously monitored with comprehensive sensor technology. If a limit value is exceeded or not reached, the system adjusts itself automatically so that optimal growing conditions always prevail.
“The extensive technical equipment with sensors, control and monitoring systems is of course essential for the operation of our vertical farms,” says cofounder and CEO of Ultragreens Cristian Tudor. “On the other hand, it also means that malfunctions or failures of individual components can affect the entire harvest.”
The vertical greenhouses are fully automated.
To avoid this, Ultragreens only equips its systems with high-quality, reliable components that have been extensively tested beforehand. For the cabling, the company has relied on HELUKABEL since the very beginning: The electrical connection technology specialist supplies the connection, control and data cables required for the operation of the vertical greenhouses. Tried and tested solutions such as the JZ-500 and JZ-600 cable types, the H07V-K single conductors or the TRONIC-CY data cable are applied.
“For us, quality was the most important criterion when selecting our suppliers,” reports Cristian Tudor. “HELUKABEL was recommended to us by one of our technical service partners … and met our high expectations.” The HELUKABEL Romania team (led by managing director Ionut Nica) thoroughly examined the application and selected the optimal solutions for the special operating environment. “Importantly, the cables used must be resistant to moisture, and they must also be sufficiently bendable to allow for a flexible installation even in tight spaces,” explains Nica.
All cables supplied by HELUKABEL are certified according to the standards and regulations applicable to local markets. “HELUKABEL is more than a supplier to us; they are a partner for the joint development of our product portfolio,” says Tudor. Further projects are already being planned — for example, the largest vertical greenhouse in Europe to date, with a cultivation area of 6,500 m2 on 12 levels.
For more information, visit helukabel.com and wireandcabletips.com.
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