Leafood developing one of Europe's largest vertical farms

Added on 19 July 2022

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LITHUANIA- One of the largest vertical farms in Europe is currently being developed in Lithuania, with the capacity to produce around 1,000 kilograms of leafy greens a day. Leafood's business has already attracted over 6mn in investment, and more is expected over the summer.

Investments into vertical farms where plants are grown indoors in layers are increasing as a means to grow more food in smaller spaces, and cut water use, as well as reducing the need for fertilisers and pesticides.

The farm is being developed in partnership with Taiwan's YesHealth Group, which announced earlier this year that the initial footprint of the indoor vertical farm is 4,000m˛, within a 7,150m˛ space. 30,000 LED panels will be installed to replace sunlight within the vertical farm, which will be entirely powered by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Valentinas Civinskas, CEO of Leafood, told LRT.lt, the website of Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT, this technology will allow Lithuanians to enjoy fresh quality produce all year round. At first, the farm will grow various types of lettuce and herbs but is also planning to include berries and vegetables in the future.

When he lived in Denmark, Civinskas said he noticed that supermarkets lack local produce. The same is the case in Lithuania. This prompted him to create a vertical farm in Vilnius, where outdoor conditions will be recreated indoors. The technology will also create day and night conditions for the plants.

"There is this patented technology. Imagine a rack - a part of it will be in daylight (created by fluorescent lamps) for 12 hours, and then the rack will move to the other side, and it will be night," Civinskas explained as reported by LRT.lt on July 18.