GE Current, a Daintree company, has announced an agreement with Agrifutura Oy, the Finnish producer of tomato brand Nams, to deliver a hybrid Lucalox HPS and Arize LED lighting solution in its new 25,000 m2 greenhouse. The new facility will more than double Agrifutura’s indoor growing space, allowing the company to offer a continuous supply of tomatoes to more customers throughout the year. The hybrid lighting set-up will also support the organization in its ambition to reach a net-zero carbon footprint within the next two to three years.
The new Agrifutura Oy greenhouse - nearing completion in Finland
With the first tomato crop to be planted in December 2021, the new greenhouse will use a fine balance of Lucalox high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and Arize Element L1000 LED top lighting, in combination with natural daylight, to reach the target daily light integral (DLI) for every plant. Three separate growing areas will be independently controlled, allowing Agrifutura to create bespoke lighting and environmental conditions for different tomato cultivars, allowing each to develop the best possible taste and texture prior to harvest.
Petri Haara, Horticulture Regional Sales Manager at Current commented, “Agrifutura has built a reputation in Finland for producing tomatoes that are second to none for taste, but the team was also very clear about the importance of helping them deliver on their sustainability goals. The combination of the latest generation HPS lighting with super-efficient, long-lasting LEDs will minimize Agrifutura’s energy bills whilst ensuring that every plant receives the optimal amount and spectra of light to produce the highest-quality yields.”
Arize Element L1000 - next-generation LED top light
Agrifutura has ambitious targets to reduce the carbon footprint of its production to net-zero within the next three years. The company has already managed to produce Nams tomatoes with a carbon footprint of just 0.36kg of CO2 per kilo of tomatoes, which is far smaller than many outdoor growers located in warmer Mediterranean climates. The in-house Agrifutura team is also exploring ways to capture more CO2 through its tomato crops, converting it into useful commercial by-products, as well as exploring further advances in growing technology that will significantly increase the yield of each crop without requiring further resources.
“Lighting is not only crucial to the success of our greenhouse production, but it’s also a key part of our strategy to reduce the environmental impact of our business, so we were keen to work with a partner who understood that we couldn’t compromise on either aspect,” said Sebastian Anttila, CEO, Agrifutura Oy. “The company’s strong and established reputation in horticultural lighting, plus the team’s ability to share detailed models which showed us exactly how the proposed hybrid lighting solution would help maximize our yields, made Current the ideal partner to help us expand our production.”
Colin Woodford