"Today, there are many companies that are either trying to develop all of their technology or assembling independent parts and islands of automation that they try to integrate, but they don't speak. However, we are trying to standardize the language and provide the industry the ability to connect and integrate their farms. Vertical farms do work when you can control all the variables in a fully integrated operating system. What we create together will help us advance the industry," says Tisha Livingston, CEO of Infinite Acres and co-founder of 80 Acres Farms.
Infinite Acres, a Dutch-American technology subsidiary of vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms, is opening a research and development center today at its Dutch headquarters in The Hague.
"Without collaboration, there is no innovation. By working with our partners in our research center, we close the feedback loop and accelerate the learning process. It is a space to collaborate, a place to innovate, and to commit to solving global problems."
Tisha Livingston at the event
In collaboration with partners in the design, construction, and maintenance of this type of agriculture, the Infinite Acres team is taking another step forward in the development of vertical farming. The Field Lab with Experience Center is located near Westland, the largest greenhouse horticulture area in the Netherlands, which has been a leader in high-tech agriculture for decades. 'It is therefore the perfect location for this hub for industrial innovation and sustainable food production possibilities.'
Innovative initiative
In the new center, researchers and experts from Infinite Acres work side by side with partner companies such as Siemens, Signify, SICK, and TTA, who directly support the center. The facility also offers space for students to conduct research. Infinite Acres is a member of the Club of 100 of Wageningen University and hopes to further strengthen this collaboration with the Field Lab. The company also aims to involve TU Delft and other Dutch and American universities in this initiative.
The official opening
Collaboration in vertical farming
Dirk de Bilde, CEO of Siemens Netherlands, on the collaboration with Infinite Acres: "With challenges such as population growth and climate change, which among other serious consequences lead to soil degradation, we must reconsider traditional food production. Digitalization and advanced technologies such as AI are essential to increase the sustainability impact in the food production and vertical farming industry – and it is people who develop these technologies to positively influence others. The opening of the Field Lab and Experience Center is an important milestone and sets a new standard for collaboration in vertical farming. It demonstrates our shared commitment to a more sustainable future."