Recently, greenhub established a partnership with TU Chemnitz. According to Alexander Jaworski, CEO of greenhub, “the partnership is a strong mixture of plant and biology-centered development on their part and a focus on control innovations on the part of TU Chemnitz.” Through the partnership, greenhub aims to develop regional innovations for the global CEA market by fostering a direct connection between academia and industry.
The GreenResearcher
TU Chemnitz’s initial interest in greenhub’s GreenResearcher has led to a partnership, thanks to its robust research and data capabilities. Drawn by GreenResearcher’s data density, the partnership is based on a shared interest in growth model research. According to greenhub the device requires no more than 1 m² in a climate-controlled environment and is therefore considered suitable for space-constrained settings (such as a CEA lab). Aside from real-time monitoring, the GreenResearcher features a management app that can be used for adjusting parameters such as light intensity, light color, light duration, irrigation, and nutrient dosing. Jaworski: “Data-driven decision-making is at the heart of the GreenResearcher. With its ability to export data, researchers can analyze growth trends and environmental factors, speeding up their development of cultivation strategies”.
The GreenResearcher is designed for space-constrained settings
Currently, greenhub makes efforts to adjust the GreenResearcher: “As the industry is well aware that optimizing our nutrient composition to a single parameter is not ideal, we are working on upgrading our nutrient dosing system towards ion-selective dosing of the 13 required macro- and micronutrients needed. As the sensors for all these parameters are still very expensive and not all of them can be used in line with the sensor measurement within the system, this will be an iterative process”, he says.
The GreenResearcher management app
Goals: diverse research partnerships and industry trust
In addition to further developing the GreenResearcher, greenhub aims to broaden its clientele and audience. Jaworski points out that the company aims for a combination of research partnerships with research facilities, universities, colleges, vertical farms, indoor farmers, and breeders. Moreover, Isabelle mentions that we ideally get in contact with farm operators and head growers. She explains: “We need as much practical feedback as possible for the development we envision. The aim is to develop solutions that simplify daily work and make it more efficient. We need trust from the industry that these solutions are not individual solutions that mean more time and effort, but rather address holistic challenges faced by farm operators.”
Expectations for 2024
Jaworski sets out company goals “A key target for greenhub is to deploy an additional 20 systems, indicating progress in aligning industry and research interests with greenhub's vision of sustainable and accessible food production. Further, greenhub intends to use customer feedback to refine the GreenResearcher and its marketing. ”
A critical aspect they expect to see is the industry overcoming its past challenges and embracing biological-led technological advancements. “We recognize the need for transparency and impactful practices in the food system, which should become standard rather than aspirational goals. The industry's embrace of these developments signals a promising future.”
He concludes by highlighting the importance of partnerships for automated biological processes: “We are facing the challenges of collecting data points that will support us in the development of achieving increased resource efficiency. We are looking for partners who want to join us on this long but necessary journey towards more sustainable practices.”
For more information:
Greenhub solutions GmbH
www.greenhub.eu