Today, Infinite Acres, a technology-focused subsidiary of the American vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms, is opening a first-of-its-kind research center at its Dutch headquarters.
For nearly a decade, 80 Acres Farms has been a global leader in the vertical farming industry, with facilities in the United States and Europe. Today, the company’s production farms supply fresh produce and grab-and-go meals to more than 1,500 retail locations across the eastern United States.
Working with best-in-class technology partners to design, build, and maintain those farms, the Infinite Acres team recognized an opportunity for closer collaboration. The Infinite Acres Field Lab and Experience Center, located near the Dutch greenhouses that have led the world in high-tech agriculture for decades, is a hub for industrial innovation and sustainable solutions.
“Innovation requires collaboration,” says Tisha Livingston, CEO of Infinite Acres and co-founder of 80 Acres Farms. “By bringing partners into our research center, we’re closing a feedback loop and accelerating our learnings, for the benefit of farmers everywhere. This is a collaborative space where we can innovate to solve global problems.” By shortening supply chains, reducing food waste, and producing more food with fewer resources, vertical farming promises a healthier and more sustainable future.
At the Field Lab and Experience Center, researchers and experts from Infinite Acres will work side-by-side with partner companies, including Siemens, Signify, SICK, and TTA, which are directly supporting the project. The facility will also be open to student researchers. Infinite Acres is a member of Wageningen University's Club of 100, and the company hopes to further its collaboration with Wageningen while engaging TU Delft and other Dutch and American universities.
“With challenges like a growing population, climate change which amongst many other severe consequences leads to soil degradation, we must rethink traditional food production. Digitalization and cutting-edge technologies such as AI are key to scale the sustainability impact in food production and vertical farming industry, and it is people who develop this technology to positively impact others”, stated Dirk De Bilde, CEO of Siemens Nederland. “The opening of the Field Lab and Experience Center is an important milestone and sets a new standard for collaboration in vertical farming - it shows our shared commitment to a more sustainable future.”
