GreenTech Innovation Award winners

Out of a total of 20 entries,  Corvus drones BV won in the 'Concept' category while Van Iperen International with GreenSwitch Original won in the 'Innovation' category.

Concept winner: Corvus drones BV with Corvus Drones

Product description: The drone is a fully automatic flying drone in horticulture greenhouses for crop monitoring purposes. Unique is the automatic navigation based on visual odometry software (GPS signals are too weak to use in a greenhouse). Seed germination, usable plants and leaf area measurement are the first applications.

Jury comments:

• "Corvus has chosen to team up with strategic partners in a platform concept. Each partner being strong in something else, the combination is very strong and promising"
• "The business model, a subscription model, is inspiring and can be an example for other businesses"
• "More dynamic assessments tools for greenhouses are welcome in the scope of digitalizing crop production and precision farming"

Advice of the jury: work on clarifying the advantage of the use of drones for other platforms (e.g. labour trolleys)

Question of the jury: How to you fly in dense crops?

Innovation winner: Van Iperen International with GreenSwitch Original

Product description: GreenSwitch Original is the first Nitrate fertilizer from an organic source.

It is a pure, crystal clear liquid formulation suitable for high-tech greenhouses and any open field fertigation or foliar application in fruit, vegetables and ornamentals.

Jury comments:

• "Fertilization made easy with big contribution to circular economy"
• "We appreciated the systems-approach that GreenSwitch takes by tying together different actors in the food and energy supply"
• "Potential for worldwide application"
• "Interesting principle for extraction of other nutrients (from other sources) in the future"

"Winning the 'GreenTech's Innovative Award 2021' endorses our commitment to continue innovating. And we couldn't be more excited to have won! Ultimately, this industry award confirms the power and hard work of the entire Van Iperen International team", explained Erik van den Bergh, Managing Director of Van Iperen International

Question of the jury: Is it scalable? What is the business case for and adoption expectancy of bio-gas plants?

The winners, nominees and entries for the Innovation Awards were showcased during the exhibition.

To check out the long list of all the entries of the Innovation Awards please visit:

https://www.greentech.nl/live-and-online/innovative-products/.

And the nominees:

https://www.greentech.nl/live-and-online/innovation-award/nominees/.

Jury
The jury of the GreenTech Innovation Awards 2021 consists of:
• Chairman: Liselotte de Vries, TU Delft AgTech Institute (Netherlands)
• Silke Hemming, Wageningen University & Research (Germany)
• Peter Zwinkels, Tecknokas (Netherlands)
• Mark Durno, Rockstart (United Kingdom)
• Perry van Adrichem, Horti-Tech B.V. (Netherlands)
• Wolfgang Steiner, Gemüsebau Steiner GmbH & Co KG (Germany)
The jury's advisory committee consists of:
• Brian Sparks, Greenhouse Grower (USA)
• Leonardo Capitano, Vivai Capitanio (Italy)
• Enrico Verhoef, Total Greenhouse Service (Mexico)
• Heinrich Dressler, Haymarket (Germany)

GreenTech Amsterdam, will be held in full physical format, June 14-16, 2022.

Source and All Photo Courtesy of Greenhouse Canada

Source: Greenhouse Canada