by adminRAIZ-ING THE BAR IN PORTUGAL
PORTUGAL BASED RAIZ VERTICAL FARMS TRUST VERTICALLY URBAN TO HELP THEM TRANSFORM URBAN FARMING
Portuguese vertical farm start-up, Raiz Vertical Farms, is looking to transform how we connect with food by kickstarting an urban farming evolution.
Their aim is to introduce farming into obsolete and underused urban spaces, producing fresh veggies near to consumers, reducing food miles and fostering a healthier relationship with what we eat.
“Our core team comes from very diverse backgrounds, but we share the belief that there is space in our cities to produce clean, nutritious food close to the consumers. This production must be obtained both responsibly & sustainability, pillars at the core of our plans.”
Emiliano Gutierrez, Raiz Farms CEO
THE URBAN FARMING EVOLUTION
The team at Raiz started this evolution close to home by constructing their first concept farm in Beato, an uprising neighbourhood in Lisbon, with plans for this to be just the first in a global network of vertical farms based around the same ethos.
Designed around a standard shipping container, Raiz’s Concept Farm has several clever features that make it particularly suitable for urban locations.
The most obvious of these is the integrated micro glasshouse on the roof of the container, this lets Raiz utilise available sunlight in tandem with Vertically Urban’s Horti-BladeTM LED grow lights to maximise growth whilst minimising energy use; something that is being further reduced through the integration of 36sqm of solar panels on top of other 2 adjacent containers.
The second most prominent feature is the use of a rotating drum-style vertical hydroponic system capable of producing 144 plants a month each in approx. 2×2 meters space, reducing both the amount of water and space required.
RACE FOR SPACE
With space in the concept farm at a premium, every aspect of the construction needed to be carefully considered. When it came to choosing the lighting, many products were simply too bulky to fit in the space allocated. However, following multiple growth trials, the ultra-slimline form factor of Horti-BladeTM was able to succeed where others failed, proving the perfect solution for Raiz’s exacting needs.
Talking about their final decision, Emiliano says “the slim and innovative design made it attractive to integrate VU into our Concept Farm, while the possibility to dim the light dynamically through our software made it the best option to move forward with.”
Vertically Urban’s Andrew Littler (CEO) adds, “We’re really happy to have been chosen by Raiz Vertical Farms as their lighting partner for their concept farm project and are very much looking forward to being part of their future growth.”
The Concept Farm is now fully commissioned and producing fresh veggies for the local community. This September, Raiz will open a €1M pre-seed round to power its growth by attracting talent, developing a blockchain protocol, and scaling up its impact, first by bringing vertical farming to other Portuguese cities, and later internationalising to other countries worldwide.
After all, Raiz’s farms are connected thought a software and modular systems that have the potential to transform cities all around the planet.
Find out more about RAIZ here: https://www.raiz.farm