Our Approach
FlexFarming approach is to utilise the underlying capabilities of strawberry plants to store energy in order to accommodate the changes in the environmental condition within reason (solar irradiance, temperature, humidity), enable them to maintain their internal biological activities and use them to enhance resource efficiency of local energy systems, act as a bridge by integrating this flexible demand with grid demand-side response programmes in order to reduce the total cost of electricity and emitted CO2. The system has the capability to increase plants growth when grid has surplus clean generation, but slow-down during peak-time. Method of Combined Design (MoCD) approach enabled us to form partnership with different technology developers and utilise off the shelf components to form an affordable solution which made strawberry production in TCEA financially viable.
The benefits
Develop and build low-cost Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA) systems
Optimise crop growth cycles to match market demand while reducing operational costs (labour and energy, etc)
Reducing environmental impacts
Minimise use of land, water and pesticides
Procure energy from renewable sources as well as onsite clean generation
Monetise on crop growth flexibility by participating in Demand Side Response programmes to reduce opera-tional cost.
Reduce embedded CO2 by using recycled and long-life materials and repurposing existing buildings.
Why FlexFarming?
At FlexFarming we are focussed on our customers’ current needs, future vision and their corporate social responsibility to do things in the best and most sustainable way and put on track to achieve their net zero objective. Our approach is to engage with different stakeholders of the supply chain and look at the matters holistically with transformational view to convert constraints to opportunities. This enabled us to develop a highly efficient net zero strawberry production by integrating the upstream and downstream supply chain through digital system and business partnership.
Our Technology
FlexFarming developed an integrated system to maximise the benefits of TCEA and identify the flexible demand opportunities, utilising them to balance local energy systems capacity, and offer its green generation and flexible demand to grid demand-side response programmes
The key challenges addressed were in the collection of all relevant data, from both the supply-side and demand-side, then design and validate a decision-making algorithm to optimise strawberry production energy requirements in light of energy systems constraints and opportunities to satisfy the production’s economic and sustainability requirements.
Our Approach
FlexFarming approach is to utilise the underlying capabilities of strawberry plants to store energy in order to accommodate the changes in the environmental condition within reason (solar irradiance, temperature, humidity), enable them to maintain their internal biological activities and use them to enhance resource efficiency of local energy systems, act as a bridge by integrating this flexible demand with grid demand-side response programmes in order to reduce the total cost of electricity and emitted CO2. The system has the capability to increase plants growth when grid has surplus clean generation, but slow-down during peak-time. Method of Combined Design (MoCD) approach enabled us to form partnership with different technology developers and utilise off the shelf components to form an affordable solution which made strawberry production in TCEA financially viable.