Pentadel Project Management, based in Promenade, has worked with Infarm on the design and construction of one of Europe's largest indoor vertical farming facilities. It is located in Bedford and is expected to be up and running in the autumn of this year.
Infarm is behind the new growing center in Bedford. It will supply herbs and salads to retailers in the greater London area and across southern and central parts of the UK.
The center will measure 9,760 sqm, offering more than 5,500 sqm of growing space in Infarm’s cloud-connected farming units. When fully equipped, the units - each occupying 25 sqm of ground space and 10 meters in height - will be able to produce up to 18 million plants per year and generate the crop equivalent of 360,000 sqm of farmland.
Pentadel, appointed by Infarm to select a site as well as design and manage the construction of the new center, has also integrated rainwater harvesting into the design of the facility. Implementing rainwater harvesting is expected to capture a further 2.5 million liters of water per year, which will be used for conditioning plants.
James Kemp, Pentadel’s managing director, said: “We are thrilled to be supporting Infarm with the delivery of this innovative facility that we believe represents the future of sustainable, scalable and resilient farming.
Jeremy Byfleet, Infarm’s UK country director, said: “Infarm has a clear goal to expand in the UK market. Our second UK Growing Centre located in the ‘golden triangle’ allows us to significantly increase the amount of fresh produce grown year-round in the UK.
“The location of the facility enables us to serve 90 percent of the UK population within four hours, bringing the freshest plants just on time to our clients. Consequently, food mileage is substantially reduced."
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