Sustainable High Tech Research Greenhouse Facility
Sustainable High Tech Research Greenhouse Facility
In order to develop the knowledge and innovations for the necessary transition to sustainable greenhouse horticulture, Wageningen Plant Research will realize a future-oriented, state-of-the-art research greenhouse facility, to safeguard and expand the leading position of the Netherlands in this field. These are facilities with which the necessary knowledge base can be built and disseminated on topics such as:
• Fossil-free greenhouse production systems;
• Emission-free nutrient use;
• Complete recirculation of water;
• Chemical-free control of diseases and pests, abiotic stress and physiogenic abnormalities;
• Circular use of growth media, fertilizers, CO2, biobased alternatives to fossil plastics;
• Automated and robotized production systems.
Infrastructure and User Services
The research facility consists of a vertical farm, a small fossil free demo greenhouse with 4 compartments and a large complex (to be build) with a total of 24 research compartments and an industrial hall with the necessary support facilities. The research greenhouse combines the highest state of the art standards with regard to sustainability. The facility is fossil-free and designed for full recirculation of water and nutrients.
The latest technologies with regard to energy saving are combined, such as LED lighting, triple screening, active dehumidification and insulating glass. Sustainable energy will be supplied through PV panels in the hall and an electric heat pump in combination with a heat and cold storage.
All compartments are equipped with automated data acquisition protocols e.a. for later reuse in simulation with digital twins. The facility allows for a significantly higher sensor density that can be expanded in a user-friendly way. The greenhouse will be equipped with a gantry robot and a measurement system for mobile data acquisition at plant level In the individual compartments.
It will be possible to apply up to 6 different food recipes per compartment from a central dosing unit. The facility is water-nutrient emission-free. The starting point is full recirculation of water and nutrients per nutrient treatment and water supply is based on rainwater (from existing basin). The lighting becomes dynamically controllable in terms of level and spectrum at high levels (up to 500 micromol/m2). These technical specifications allow for research into all aspects of sustainable controlled environment horticulture
Examples/description of the type of research
Responding to the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis and the limitations in available space, greenhouse horticulture is on the eve of a radical transition to sustainable cultivation. Increasing scale of companies in combination with the 'war on talent' requires automation and digitization of cultivation. In order to achieve the ambitions of the sector and to be able to cope with the various crises, a lot of knowledge and technology still needs to be developed and applied. With this high-tech research greenhouse, Wageningen Research aims to realize a facility that enables greenhouse horticulture to accelerate the necessary transitions. Especially in the field of data-driven plant production, fossil-free efficient production, emission-free cultivation, low-chemical and resilient plant production and labor-friendly production. This should lead to a strengthened position of the Dutch greenhouse horticulture ecosystem and thus more sustainable greenhouse horticulture food production worldwide. In the test facility, research will be carried out into fossil-free, low-chemical and emission-free crops. The technical infrastructure enables research into the application of a multitude of sensors and AI, data-driven monitoring and the development and validation of robotized systems.
How to access the infrastructure?
The infrastructure is physically accessible, but visits are only possible by appointment. Experiments by external users require the responsibility of an internal researcher. The greenhouse is equipped with hygiene gates.