Welcome to Solaris Biolabs
A unique form of farming is ‘taking rise’ in the UK with fresh food and other crops being grown indoors on special towers using light, hi-tech food production equipment and hot water.
“We construct energy-efficient buildings and create vertical farms inside of them,” said Dr Paul Hilton, Head of R & D at Solaris® Biolabs. “With Brexit and also the current crisis we are living through, people understand the value of hyper-local food production and also the benefits of a secure food supply for our communities. Now we have the methods, thanks to advances in horticulture lighting, to be able to grow food within buildings in this way.”
But the key difference with other vertical farming operations elsewhere is the inclusion of solar photovoltaics to power the facilities. Solaris® Biolabs parent company, Solaris® Corporation are the developers of the technology and their business model is quite simple: capture the heat energy (as hot water) from the hybrid solar panels and use that to help power the vertical farming units.
“The solar panels produce the hot water relatively cheaply, so why not use it to help produce food for our communities at lower cost?” “Our vertical farming units are entirely aeroponic, using no soil whatsoever, so the system is effectively ‘plug and play’ with minimal waste. Our tech partner is GrowSpec, and they have developed special LED lamps that give plants exactly the types of light they need to grow, and no more i.e. no wasted energy”.
The vertical farm units allow multiple crops to grow in a small space. And rather than one annual harvest each year, the controlled indoor environment of the Solaris® Biolabs facilities produce fresh food all year round without worrying about changes in the climate outdoors. “The technology also allows us to grow food locally that may usually grow in only certain parts of the world like Asia or Africa”, said Dr Hilton. “You get hyper-local, fresh produce that doesn’t have to travel halfway around the World to arrive on your dinner table, so we are making our own significant contribution towards sustainable, carbon-neutral societies that use only clean, green energy. Surely every business should try to operate this way?"
“We construct energy-efficient buildings and create vertical farms inside of them,” said Dr Paul Hilton, Head of R & D at Solaris® Biolabs. “With Brexit and also the current crisis we are living through, people understand the value of hyper-local food production and also the benefits of a secure food supply for our communities. Now we have the methods, thanks to advances in horticulture lighting, to be able to grow food within buildings in this way.”
But the key difference with other vertical farming operations elsewhere is the inclusion of solar photovoltaics to power the facilities. Solaris® Biolabs parent company, Solaris® Corporation are the developers of the technology and their business model is quite simple: capture the heat energy (as hot water) from the hybrid solar panels and use that to help power the vertical farming units.
“The solar panels produce the hot water relatively cheaply, so why not use it to help produce food for our communities at lower cost?” “Our vertical farming units are entirely aeroponic, using no soil whatsoever, so the system is effectively ‘plug and play’ with minimal waste. Our tech partner is GrowSpec, and they have developed special LED lamps that give plants exactly the types of light they need to grow, and no more i.e. no wasted energy”.
The vertical farm units allow multiple crops to grow in a small space. And rather than one annual harvest each year, the controlled indoor environment of the Solaris® Biolabs facilities produce fresh food all year round without worrying about changes in the climate outdoors. “The technology also allows us to grow food locally that may usually grow in only certain parts of the world like Asia or Africa”, said Dr Hilton. “You get hyper-local, fresh produce that doesn’t have to travel halfway around the World to arrive on your dinner table, so we are making our own significant contribution towards sustainable, carbon-neutral societies that use only clean, green energy. Surely every business should try to operate this way?"
