A pioneering new research initiative, Stacked Farming Systems, has been launched to explore how vertical farming technologies can be integrated beneath greenhouses to produce more food with less land.
Supported by UKRI BBSRC & ESRC and the Zinc Commercialisation Programme, the project aims to design, prototype, and commercialize innovative multi-layer food production systems that are efficient, scalable, and sustainable.
The project is led jointly by Dr Sven Batke from EHU and Dr Nicola Favretto and Dr Daphne Ezer from University of York. Working alongside leading industry partners, including the British Tomato Growers' Association, Priva, Vertical Urban, and CambridgeHOK, the team will co-develop a new model of stacked food production that reimagines how protected cropping and vertical systems can work together to enhance efficiency and sustainability.
© Edge Hill University
"This project is about rethinking how we can grow more with less using smart design, data, and innovation to make food production both sustainable and economically viable," said Dr Daphne Ezer. "By integrating vertical systems beneath greenhouses, we can create productive, climate-resilient farming systems that are both technologically and environmentally forward-looking."
The Stacked Farming Systems project will collaborate with growers' associations, engineers, and economic modellers to drive innovation. It will produce a design concept for a prototype stacked food production system that merges greenhouse and vertical farming technologies, and develop a commercialisation strategy that connects research, design, and real-world application.
Dr Sven Batke, Chair of the Greenhouse Innovation Consortium, added: "We want to design a system that works from every angle, operationally, financially, and technically. A design that growers can trust, investors can back, and engineers can build. This project will help define what the next generation of integrated greenhouse farming could look like."
The initiative forms part of the Zinc Commercialisation Programme, which supports researchers to translate high-impact ideas into real-world solutions.
Dr Nicola Favretto commented: "This project is a fantastic example of interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together biological and social sciences, engineering, and enterprise to tackle the challenges of food security and sustainable land use."
For more information:
Dr. Sven Batke, Chair of the Greenhouse Innovation Consortium
[email protected]
edgehill.ac.uk/person/sven-batke/staff/
