While electricity is the number one input cost
in vertical farming, CubicFarms' Crop Motion Technology™ delivers
more than 2x greater energy efficiency with a single layer of
lighting
VANCOUVER, BC, May 12, 2022
/PRNewswire/ - CubicFarm® Systems Corp. ("CubicFarms" or
the "Company") (TSX: CUB), a leading local chain agricultural
technology company, today announced new data that demonstrates 54%
to 62% less energy is used in a CubicFarm System module compared to
results reported by other vertical farms surveyed globally. With
electricity being the number one input cost in vertical farming,
this is a significant advantage to customers using the CubicFarm
System technology for indoor growing.
Most vertical farming operations rely on light emitting diode
("LED") grow lights positioned above every row of plants. Despite
the significant land, water, and labour benefits of year-round
indoor growing, the high energy usage of LED grow lights has, until
now, slowed the wider adoption of Controlled Environment
Agriculture ("CEA").
In 2020, the global vertical farming market was estimated at
$3.24 billion and is expected to
reach $24.11 billion by 2030¹. The
world's leading advisory firm on urban and controlled environment
agriculture, Agritecture, highlighted the need for greater
transparency and accountability for claims about energy use in the
vertical farming sector in its 2021 Global CEA Census Report.
"Lighting accounts for 65% of energy usage in a typical indoor
farming operation," reported Henry
Gordon-Smith, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Agritecture. "62% indicated that they track energy consumption, but
only 28% provided a credible number. Reporting how growers measure
specific ESG (environmental, social, and governance) outcomes
provides much needed and valuable insights that affect new
technology adoption rates, policies, financing, and global
operations. We're pleased to see CubicFarms taking a leadership
role in benchmarking and sharing its significant energy
savings."
The Company initiated new data collection to effectively measure
energy usage in the CubicFarm System. Patented Crop Motion
Technology™ moves plants to one layer of LED grow lights, unlike
typical rack and stack layouts of other vertical farms that use
multiple layers of energy-intensive LEDs. Findings include:
- 17.6 kilowatt hours ("kWh") per pound in typical vertical
farms²
- 8 kWh/pound in a CubicFarm System module (54% less than typical
vertical farms)
- 6.67 kWh/pound in a CubicFarms FreshHub System (62% less than
typical vertical farms)
The Company's high-density FreshHub with 96 modules benefits
from improved efficiencies of the growing system, using 62% less
energy than typical vertical farms at 6.67 kWh/pound.
"The new data clearly demonstrates that a CubicFarm System is
the most energy-efficient way to grow fresh produce indoors," said
Edoardo De Martin, President and
Chief Technology Officer, CubicFarms. "The high cost and energy
requirements of thousands of LEDs is inefficient when automation
allows us to use just a single layer. This industry comparison
proves the definitive energy savings for our Farmer Partners
growing produce using a CubicFarm System."
"At CubicFarms, we're committed to providing much-needed
transparency in the ag-tech industry," said Dave Dinesen, Chief
Executive Officer, CubicFarms. "We're in a category of our own with
Crop Motion farming challenging the industry and creating the gold
standard with the lowest energy requirements in vertical farming.
CubicFarms' pioneering technology was initially developed by one of
North America's largest greenhouse
plant propagation businesses, Bevo Farms. We're leveraging decades
of indoor growing experience and our innovative Crop Motion
Technology™ to show that we're closer to the minimal energy
requirements of greenhouse growing using solar energy. Other
vertical farms require two to three times more energy than a
CubicFarm System."
According to self-reported data surveyed and compiled in
Agritecture's 2021 Global CEA Census Report, greenhouse operations
require an average of 2.5 kilowatt hours of energy per pound of
produce grown. CubicFarms' indoor growing technology is
significantly closer to the low energy consumption typical of
greenhouse growing using solar energy. Greenhouse growing requires
more land and water than vertical farms, while CubicFarms' FreshHub
System occupies one acre and replaces 100 acres of outdoor
growing.
"CubicFarm System modules and FreshHubs can be located near
major population centres for closer access to more reliable,
year-round growing indoors with the added flexibility of less land,
less water, localized transportation, and significant energy
savings," said Dinesen.
¹Allied Market Research
https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/vertical-farming-market.
²Agritecture 2021 Global CEA Census Report, Typical Vertical Farm
Energy Usage https://www.agritecture.com/census.
About CubicFarms
CubicFarms is a leading local chain agricultural technology
company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing
world. Its proprietary ag-tech solutions enable growers to produce
high quality, predictable produce and fresh livestock feed with
HydroGreen Nutrition Technology, a division of CubicFarm Systems
Corp. The CubicFarms™ system contains patented technology for
growing leafy greens and other crops onsite, indoors, all year
round. CubicFarms provides an efficient, localized food supply
solution that benefits our people, planet, and economy.
For more information, please visit www.cubicfarms.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Dave Dinesen"
Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer
This release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" or
"forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws.
Forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "could," "should,"
"would," "plan," "potential," "intend," "anticipate," "project,"
"target," "believe," "plan," "outlook," "estimate," or "expect" and
other words, terms and phrases of similar nature are often intended
to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations
and assumptions made by the Company. Although management of the
Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which
such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue
reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements
because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to
be correct.
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SOURCE CubicFarm Systems Corp.