RHENAC GreenTec AG and Pharmaplant present solutions for CEA
Added on 02 October 2023
Dr Urs Fischer, Managing Director of Pharmaplant, contributed his experience to the workshop "Potential for raw material production for the food and pharmaceuti-cal industry". And while many lectures and exhibitors' stands presented new ideas on indoor farming, but little in the way of reliable figures and certainly no basis for viable business models, Dr. Fischer was able to present concrete cost calculations for the various cultivation methods. His conclusion: Indoor farming in the field of spice and medicinal plants is only worthwhile today, if the fresh plants are brought to the market and not, as is usually the case, with dried goods. Although vertical farming could minimise land consumption and avoid crop failures, the investment and operating costs are very high. "In order to develop vertical farming profitably, we need plant raw materials with new qualities and entirely new products from them," Dr Fischer summarised.
At the joint trade fair stand, a current major project of RHENAC GreenTec AG attracted particular interest among visitors: For the converted Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, RHENAC has developed a turf growth exposure system for the turf stored underground in the so-called hypogeum. This "greenhouse" corresponds to a seven-storey building and accommodates the turf stored in movable tubs when the arena is to be used for concerts, for example. "The Bernabéu stadium project is also a form of vertical farming. Our plant exposure technology is the only one in the world capable of reacting to the plant hormone signals emitted by the plants with suitable changes in the entire light spectrum. This enables us to maintain the quality of the turf even during its lageration in the hypogeum and to meet the high demands of Real Madrid. Our knowledge from this project can be transferred to other indoor farming projects at any time," explained Horst Theisen, CEO of RHENAC GreenTec AG.
About RHENAC GreenTec AG
RHENAC GreenTec AG, located in Hennef develops and produces innovative LED plant lighting systems for a wide range of applications with scientific support. These range from use in plant re-search and production, for example in biomass production and indoor and urban farming, to lighting systems for sports turf. The service includes the consultation and planning of a project, the develop-ment and production of the lighting systems and the commissioning on site.
About PHARMAPLANT GmbH
PHARMAPLANT Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzen Forschungs- und Saatzucht GmbH is a modern re-search, development and consulting service company in the field of production and quality assur-ance of herbal raw materials with bioactive ingredients. Both in the context of industrial contract re-search and in state-supported projects, the main topics are cultivation/domestication of new plant species, breeding of medicinal, spice and tea plants, development and optimisation of cultivation systems, clarification of the causes and avoidance of contamination of the harvested products as well as consulting and auditing of special crop farmers and their customers. The team of scientists is interdisciplinary and the experimental work is carried out in laboratory, greenhouse and field trials.
Photo: The trade fair also offered the opportunity to exchange ideas with cooperation partners: RHENAC CEO Horst Theisen (2nd from right) with representatives of Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH.
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