Vertical Farming: A silver bullet for modern agriculture? – Dr Jennifer Bromley

Vertical farming is the process of growing crops in multiple layers in a controlled environment where all key inputs a plant responds to are specified and provided by the operator. In theory, this means you can grow anything, anywhere, at any time. But does this make sense from both an economic and an environmental standpoint? Our life cycle assessment driven approach allows consideration of the embodied carbon within vertical farm systems and that used in the production of crops. This highlights areas where effort is needed to improve both hardware and operational methods as well as providing perspective on planning and best practice for energy supply. Here Jen explores vertical farming system design, processes and key considerations and look at areas where this technology has been applied to date and sectors where it shows promise for further exploitation. 00:00 Introduction 02:48 The Global Food Challenge 03:55 Vertical Farming Technologies 05:55 Beyond Lettuce: Diversify Vertical Farming Crops 08:26 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 18:08 Impact of Energy Source on LCA 24:40 Tracking Carbon - Sankey Plot 28:28 Reducing Energy Without Losing Quality Speaker profile: Jen Bromley, Chief Scientific Officer at Vertical Future, has 18 years of experience in applied plant science. Her PhD from the University of Cambridge in Developmental Botany has led to a career spanning academia and industry. Jen joined Vertical Future from British American Tobacco’s Plant Biotechnology division where she developed and headed up a global research programme as well as leading the research team responsible for the most complete assembly of the tobacco genome. Before this she carried out postdoctoral research focussed on biofuels at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (USA), University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and University of Cambridge (UK). At Vertical Future, Jen leads and carries out research activities that span plant science from indoor agronomy and smart plant manufacturing to plant physiology and biochemistry collaborating with academics and companies across the world to forward the reach and remit of vertical farming. Filmed at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School, 2024. #plantscience #verticalfarming #indooragronomy