Netled, together with its client OMG, a Swedish herb supplier, launches an industrial-scale vertical farm that will produce up to 2.7 million pots of 14 different herbs per year.
The distributor is ICA, the leading grocery retailer in Sweden with around 1 300 stores and a market share of around 36 %. ICA will be the first private label brand in the Nordics with vertically farmed products. Starting in June 2022, the vertically farmed herbs will be available to almost 350 ICA stores north of the city of Avesta.
“Netled’s Vera® vertical farming technology will allow us to provide customers throughout Sweden with fresher herbs and leafy greens, grown hyper-locally and with a significantly reduced carbon footprint”, says Moses Isik, CEO of OMG. “Not only does the customer benefit, but the planet does, too!”
”The reason why we have ICA as a customer basically buying all the volumes is that they want to be at the forefront of developing a sustainable food system of the future.”
First vertical farm in the world delivering Climate Neutral Certified herbs
OMG’s facility is the first vertical cultivation in the world delivering Climate Neutral Certified herbs from seed to shelf – following the Climate Neutral Certification programme. They calculate their emissions footprint on a granular level including ingredients, storage, production, packaging, mobility, and upstream and downstream logistics until the products reach the shelf.
The facility is built in an old steel factory of 2 000 m2 (21,528 sqft) and it operates with renewable energy: wind power. The remaining CO2 emissions are compensated by supporting an NGO’s agroforestry project of 214 hectares in India.
The Söderfors facility built in an old steel factory and running on wind energy. Image credit: Netled/Miikka Tikka
The production is done indoors in a totally controlled environment. Almost everything is automated and operated mechanically with control screens where the amount of nutrients, water, temperature, and light is controlled. With the Vera® vertical farming system, production can be up to 2.5 times larger, energy consumption 70% lower, and water consumption up to 95% lower when compared to traditional greenhouses. The overall carbon footprint can be nearly 80 % smaller than in traditional greenhouse growing.
”The reason I went into the vertical farming business is that I’m seeing that we are heading off a cliff with our current food production. I felt the need to participate in catalyzing a change,” Moses Isik states.
Oh My Greens is committed to a 25% emissions footprint reduction by 2030 and a 90% reduction by 2050 for their products. Today they use 100% renewable energy (wind power) in production, and the key future measures that will be taken to reach the goals are: (1) electrification of their upstream and downstream transport, (2) nearshoring suppliers to reduce transport distances by ~50%, (3) using return pallets for the products, and (4) collaborating with and choosing suppliers to become completely climate neutral.
Technology provider is key
As a turn-key vertical farming project provider, Netled is not just a technology company, but also offers all services and support needed for building a commercially viable vertical farming business.
“We considered 17 different vertical farming technology providers and came to the conclusion that, in terms of its technology, know-how, and delivery capabilities, Netled is years ahead of the competition,” says Moses Isik.
“When you want to go to industrial scale and do a big-size investment, you really need to know you have a partner who understands the technology, has the employees, the backbone and history of also being able to create a project like this. There is a lot of complexity. We chose Netled and we are happy with our choice.”
For Netled, the launch solidifies its position as the Nordic market leader in vertical farming technology.
“This launch not only allows OMG to produce fantastic products for customers throughout the whole of Sweden, but it is a clear example to farm operators of the industrial-scale opportunities our Vera® vertical farming technology and our experienced project team can provide,” Netled CEO Niko Kivioja says.
Read the full press release and download images here: https://netled.fi/for-media/
More information:
Niko Kivioja
CEO, Netled
+358 50 360 8121
niko.kivioja@netled.fi
Moses Isik
CEO, Oh My Greens
+46 704 269 267
moses.isik@appliedvalue.com
Sanna Andersson
Head of Marketing and Communications, Netled
+358 40 358 4976
sanna.andersson@netled.fi
ICA Gruppen Press Service
+46 (0)10 422 52 52
press@ica.se
