Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TODE20241021016
- Term of Validity
- 29 October 2024 - 29 October 2025
- Company's Country
- Germany
- Type of partnership
- Investment agreement
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- The offer comes from a startup based in southern Germany. They are developing an innovative vertical farming system inspired by termite mound architecture, aimed at optimizing energy efficiency and climate control without relying on traditional air conditioning. They seek industrial partners to collaborate in areas such as sustainable construction, agricultural technology, food production/ -distribution, and supply chain management through research technical cooperation and joint ventures.
- Full Description
-
The startup is located in southern Germany and focuses on sustainable agriculture through the development of advanced vertical farming systems. Their approach is inspired by the natural architecture of termite mounds, which enable efficient climate regulation and energy management. This solution addresses one of the main challenges in vertical farming: the high energy consumption required for climate control, particularly cooling systems.
The key innovation lies in the use of natural principles of convection and airflow, which are applied in the buildings design to maintain optimal growing conditions for plants without relying on traditional air conditioning. This significantly reduces operational costs and energy consumption, while also making vertical farming more scalable and applicable in regions with extreme climate, such as deserts. This leads to vertical farming becoming able to escape the niche of leafy greens and other products with high margins but low meaning for nourish a growing world population
.
The technology has a wide range of applications, particularly in urban agriculture, where there is increasing demand for efficient, space-saving, and resource-conserving food production methods. Target markets include densely populated cities, arid regions like the Middle East, and countries with limited arable land.
The start-up seeks international partnerships with research and industrial partners in fields such as sustainable construction, smart agriculture technology, and renewable energy systems. The desired outcome is to collaborate in technical development, commercialization, and market entry strategies. Through partnerships, they aim to bring this innovative solution to a global scale and revolutionize sustainable farming.
Cooperations could be under research or technical agreement as well as investment agreement or joint venture. - Advantages and Innovations
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The company’s vertical farming system leverages natural convection and airflow principles inspired by termite mounds, offering several key advantages over fellow vertical farming solutions:
1. Energy Efficiency: Unlike conventional vertical farms, which rely heavily on artificial climate control, the new system might reduce energy consumption by up to 50% through natural ventilation. This offers significant cost savings and makes the system economically viable even in regions with high energy prices or unstable grids.
2. Water Conservation: Through optimized humidity management, water loss is minimized, which is critical in arid regions where water is a scarce resource.
3. Scalability and Flexibility: The design is adaptable to various environments, from urban centers to desert landscapes. By minimizing reliance on external energy, the technology is suitable for regions with high population densities and where arable land is limited.
4. Construction Efficiency and Circularity: As their natural role models, the termite farms shall be constructed at their final destination via 3D-Printing, using recycled material.
To conclude, the start-up’s solution offers significant economic benefits due to its lower operational and constructional costs compared to the status quo.
Additionally, it opens up new opportunities for sustainable farming in regions where traditional methods are inefficient or unfeasible due to harsh climate conditions and scarce resources. - Stage of Development
- Concept stage
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger
- IPR status
- Secret know-how
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
Type and Role of Partner Sought:
The start-up is looking for partners from a variety of potential sectors to support the development and commercialization of their vertical farming solution. Specifically, they seek:
- Companies and research organizations with expertise in agriculture technology, sustainable construction, renewable energy, food production and supply.
- Manufacturers of sustainable building materials, HAC systems, and lighting systems, as well as distributors with experience in (urban) farming or agricultural technology.
- Research institutions focused on agriculture, thermodynamics, and ecological sustainability.
- Companies or city planners looking to implement vertical farming solutions, particularly in urban or arid regions (e.g. food retailers, gastronomy, real estate developers, municipalities)
Expected role:
- Collaborating in developing prototypes and scaling the production of farming systems and materials that meet the architectural and energy related needs of the project.
- Supporting the validation of the technical aspects (airflow, thermodynamics, energy efficiency), as well as conducting field trials and performance analysis.
- Assisting in market entry and developing of commercialization strategies
- Providing end-user feedback for refinements
Established and experienced companies in the fields mentioned above with the willingness to innovate.
Size doesn’t matter, whereas interest in a collaboration approach for this new venture would be an asset. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME 50 - 249
- Big company
- SME 11-49
- SME <=10
- Type of partnership
- Investment agreement
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 07001001 - Agriculture Machinery / Technology
- 08001005 - Food Technology
- 02006006 - Construction engineering (design, simulation)
- Market keywords
- 09005 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Animal Husbandry & Related Products
- Sector Groups Involved
- Agri-Food
- Targeted countries
- All countries