Last September 2021, the LIFE FARMITANK project began, a project led by PARCITANK and co-financed by the European Commission through the LIFE program (LIFE20 ENV/ES/000810).
The main objective of LIFE FARMITANK is the implementation of a novel business model based on vertical farming and the demonstration of the environmental and socio-economic benefits that it entails. The environmental problem that LIFE FARMITANK aims to solve is to reduce the excessive use of resources in the horticultural sector and the main expected result is the technical and socio-economic validation of the business model, through the production of horticultural crops inside a removable cultivation tank under 100% controlled conditions.
The duration of the project is 27 months. A Farmitank cultivation tank with 24 cultivation levels (312m2 of cultivation surface) will be installed in the FLORETTE facilities located in Milagro (Navarra). During a year of cultivation trials, the advantages of using this vertical farming system will be demonstrated through the production of lettuce, aromatic herbs, sprouts and micro-sprouts.
The partners involved in the project are the following:
PARCITANK will be in charge of the FARMITANK prototype design and parts manufacture in their facilities in Villarrobledo, Spain. They will also oversee the prototype start-up and they will lead the replicability and transferability strategy, the public awareness and dissemination of results and the overall project management. Besides Parcitank will also participate in the analytical campaign, monitoring impact, replicability/transferability strategy, the Communication and Dissemination plan (C&D plan) execution and project management. PARCITANK is highly experienced in FARMITANK technology.
FLORETTE will be trained by PARCITANK to oversee the prototype operation. They will also follow PARCITANK’s indications for parameter monitoring and send samples for the analytical campaign. The prototype will include a control software which will allow PARCITANK to monitor its performance. FLORETTE will also be involved in the analytical campaign, monitoring impact, replicability/transferability strategy, the C&D plan execution and project management.
CNTA will lead the comparative studies in the analytical campaign. These comparative studies will be focused on the food safety and quality of minimally processed vegetables from conventional crops and from the crops grown via the FARMINTANK prototype. During these studies CNTA will collect the required data for the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Besides, CNTA will contribute with all the partners in C&D and management tasks. CNTA has vast experience in R&D projects related to food safety and quality and development of innovative food products.
FLORÉALE will participate in the analytical campaign, in the replicability/transferability strategy and in the C&D tasks. Thanks to their vast experience and influence in the EU food sector, they bring considerable additional value to the project.
HERMANOS TORRES CORNAGO S.L. will participate in the analytical campaign by carrying out crop assessment and assays in nutritional crop values, to compare FARMITANK technology with their standard green leaf crop production. They will also be part of the replicability/transferability strategy to validate the suitability of the FARMITANK business model for SMEs.
You can get more information about this project on the web https://life-farmitank.eu and through the profiles of LinkedIn and Twitter "Life Farmitank".