Germany: Old cotton mill converted to 18,000 sq.m. vertical farm

At a time when regionality and sustainability are becoming more and more important, ever more possibilities are opening up in local neighbourhoods. Klaus Eckelmann, Managing Director of New Energy London Deutschland UG, is currently working on a new project. He wants to transform an acquired property, with a total of 18,000m2, into a Vertical Farming facility, with the latest energy-saving LED exposure system.

In this building from 1989, a vertical farming facility is to be built.
Source: New Energy London Germany UG

The buildings are located in Mittweida, a student city about 40 minutes from Dresden. Here, in the middle of the industrial area, fruit, vegetables and herbs are to be planted over five levels. "The location of the property is just perfect," says Eckelmann. The buildings are only 8 km from the A4, exit 73 Hainichen, and are therefore well connected. The central warehouse of Norma is only 7km away. Also the new Edeka logistics center is only 20km away and Aldi's central warehouse can also easily be reached via the highway. As the project developer said, "Suppliers from Holland, Spain, Italy or other European countries will have the chance to have a site close to their sales markets. They would practically have the market directly at their door."

The New Energy London Deutschland UG is an engineering office specializing in project development with energy management. Together with its partners, the company has been registered since 2013.

"Vertical Farming has many advantages. The future lies in such systems," says Eckelmann. "Here we are not dependent on the weather and we can face climate change at an early stage. Everything can be planned better and the industrial area can be used for a full 24 hours a day. Other commercial equipment may only be used until 10 pm", he explains. The main advantage of the building is the ceiling height of 4.80m, which offers four to five shelf levels per floor. In addition, the stability of the building makes the system even more economical by means of a clever energy management and is protected from strong winds. The adjacent hydroelectric power station offers additional security for the supply. "We are located in the triangle of Chemnitz, Dresden, Leipzig and thus in an area with 3.5 million inhabitants. Berlin is also not far off," says Eckelmann. In addition to regional marketing, deliveries to Eastern Europe such as Warsaw are conceivable.

For the implementation of the project, Eckelmann is looking for experienced entrepreneurs and cooperatives from the fields of horticulture and plant production who want to save on transport distances and thus avoid the ever-increasing transport costs and generate a lower carbon footprint for their products.

Here are some images of the building:

First floor hall

First floor windows

Third floor storage area

For more information:
Klaus Eckelmann
New Energy London Deutschland UG
Hainichener Strasse 66
09648 Mittweida
Tel: +49 - 3727 / 9990873
Mob: +49 - 172 / 2604704
E-Mail: office@new-energy-london.com