VertiFarm trade fair brings together industry experts from all over the world

Third edition took place from 8 to 10 October at Messe Dortmund

In its third edition, VertiFarm, the leading international trade fair for Next Level Farming and New Food Systems, offered participants from the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector plenty of space to hold in-depth discussions and make valuable contacts. The aim: to create sustainable synergies so that visions become reality. The focus was particularly on the innovative industry of vertical farming and cannabis cultivation. In addition to well-known national and international manufacturers and renowned scientific and research institutions, the start-up scene was once again well represented.

Dortmund, 14 October 2024 – The future belongs to agriculture under controlled conditions. It offers the ideal conditions to complement conventional agriculture in the future in order to successfully meet one of the greatest challenges of our time: ensuring food security in the face of the climate crisis and population growth. As part of the third edition of the leading trade fair for indoor farming in combination with New Food Systems, industry experts and interested parties from all over the world gathered once again to jointly drive forward the development of the industry and its public perception as an important factor for the future and to make lasting contacts along the way.

The difficult macroeconomic conditions of recent years have slowed down the rapid development of the industry. However, the phase of consolidation in which it currently finds itself, and which is a test of patience for many market participants, could be a pioneering step towards the development of a stable, competitive industry, as we know it from other sectors. Sabine Loos, Managing Director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue, is also counting on this effect: „With VertiFarm, we have created an excellent new platform over the past two years for all those who are helping to shape the innovative sector of agriculture under controlled conditions. From my conversations with participants at VertiFarm 2024, I know that many highly interesting contacts were made once again – both nationally and internationally. Especially in challenging times, an exchange like this is immensely important for all industry players.“

Christine Zimmermann-Loessl, Chairwoman of the Association for Vertical Farming e.V., also emphasises the importance of the trade fair for international exchange within the industry: „VertiFarm and the Association for Vertical Farming Summit, which takes place as part of the trade fair, are key building blocks for advancing the industry. We bring together the most important stakeholders from business, politics and associations to discuss current topics, for example why promising companies failed, and also to develop a road map for the future.“ The Association for Vertical Farming sees itself as a link in this context: „Together we are stronger“, emphasises Christine Zimmermann-Loessl. „VertiFarm is an important platform for strengthening this spirit and giving the sector a further boost, in Europe and worldwide.“

Broad spectrum of representatives from business, science and research

As in previous years, VertiFarm 2024 was once again attended by an international audience. According to a survey, the majority of participants were extremely satisfied with the trade fair and came from 16 countries, the majority from different regions of Europe such as Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Sweden, Spain, Hungary and the Czech Republic. However, South and Central America and Asia were also represented with participants from countries such as Brazil, India and South Korea.

On the exhibitor side, well-known international manufacturers such as the leading Chinese photobiotech company Fujian Sananbio Technology Co, Ltd, Würth Elektronik eiSos GmbH & Co. KG and Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH, both manufacturers of LEDs for optimised plant growth, were represented. Air Supplies from the Netherlands, an expert in assimilation lighting and climate control systems, was represented for the first time. Algatec GmbH from Brandenburg exhibited innovative solar systems. And Algenwerk c/o PUEVIT GmbH from Dresden presented the benefits of spirulina, a microalgae produced under controlled conditions, as a new type of superfood.

Avisomo, an Oslo-based developer of turnkey vertical farming systems and equipment manufacturer, has recently entered into a strategic partnership with Coop Norway, Norway’s second largest supermarket chain. Together they plan to build a fully automated vertical farm that will be integrated into Coop’s existing distribution centre.

These companies were joined by partners from science and research such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT. With its inFARMING® concept, the institute has developed an innovative concept for building-integrated agriculture. It enables resource-conserving food production in urban areas by utilising roofs and facades to grow plants, for example. The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME presented its OrbiPlant® and OrbiLoop® systems. They have been developed to make vertical farming more efficient and scalable by using flexible conveyor belts for plant cultivation that are suitable for integration into existing urban structures such as facades and roofs.

Opportunity for founders: START-UP AREA and Start-up Challenge

Founders who want to establish themselves on the market need strong partners at their side. They were able to enter into dialogue in the START-UP AREA. This year, the open-plan area once again offered young companies the opportunity to present themselves to the international trade fair audience and make contacts. Among others, the start-ups Direct Carbon from Sweden, which develops solutions to reduce CO2 emissions, and AgriData Innovations, which develops so-called Smart Eyes for data-driven greenhouse management, were represented there with exciting new business models. OnlyGreens also attracted numerous trade visitors to its stand in the START-UP AREA with its cultivation racks – along with order enquiries.

Sabine Loos emphasises: “The last two editions of VertiFarm have already proven how important our industry meetings are for young companies. They make valuable contacts here – not only with potential customers, but also with other experts from the industry from whose experience they can benefit. This opens up completely new future prospects and collaborations that drive the industry forward.”

Start-ups based in Germany had the opportunity to have their trade fair appearance funded with up to 7,500 euros as part of the Young Innovator Programme in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).

A start-up challenge was also held for the first time under the motto “Grow to the Next Height”. The winners were the Indian start-up 4CLIMATE and the Leipzig-based start-up greenhub solutions GmbH. They received a one-year AVF membership and an expert coaching. greenhub solutions GmbH‘s team, led by founders Alexander Jaworski and Kay Plat, develops automated indoor farming solutions for agriculture, with a first marketable product in the starting blocks: the GreenResearcher. The compact plug-and-play system makes it possible to obtain data from standardised experiments. Analysing this data should help to make plant growth and cultivation methods more efficient and productive. The start-up 4Climate from Ahmedabad, India, develops automation solutions for agriculture based on modern technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). 4Climate’s solutions are specifically designed for closed environments such as CEA greenhouses, hydroponic vertical farms and aquacultures.

8th Summit of the Association for Vertical Farming again excellently attended

Another highlight of VertiFarm was the 8th Summit of the Association for Vertical Farming e.V. (AVF). It provided a framework for experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and stakeholders to not only discuss current developments, challenges and future trends, but also to exchange best practice examples and learn from the ideas and experiences of other companies. The participants included Dr David Meszaros, founder and CEO of SMARTKAS, whose company has set itself the goal of establishing vertical farming in urban areas, AeroFarms co-founder and CEO of Oshima Good Food, Marc Oshima, serial founder, investor and digital expert Carsten Puschmann, who opened the second day of the trade fair with a keynote speech on “Investing in Food Tech”, and Jan Bredack, founder and CEO of the Veganz Group.

Excursion to three outstanding projects 

Anyone who wanted to experience the current progress in vertical farming live and be inspired, had the opportunity to do so during an excursion to nearby outstanding projects the day before VertiFarm began. The programme included a visit to the Hansa coking plant in Dortmund. An urban fish and plant farm is being created here. Aquaponics is the name of the closed-loop system that is intended to help supply the city with healthy and environmentally friendly food. The facility is used for research purposes and workshops. The next stop was the contract research organisation INNEXO B.V./Cultivators, Venlo (NL), which focuses on molecular agriculture, in particular cannabis cultivation. The participants of the excursion learnt details about optimal production methods for pharmaceutical ingredients and technological innovations. They also visited the ALTMARKTgarten in Oberhausen, a real laboratory. Since 2019, fruit and vegetables have been grown for research purposes on 1,100 square metres on the roof of the job centre as part of the implementation of the inFARMING® concept of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT.

What partners and exhibitors had to say

CONCEPTUAL PARTNER

Christine Zimmermann-Loessl, Chairwoman of the Association for Vertical Farming e.V.

„VertiFarm is essential for networking and holding on to what the industry has in common. The common ground is collaboration, more realistic expectations and working to move the industry forward. The trade fair is the most important platform for vertical farming.”

MAIN SPONSOR

Danko Tolić, Marketing Manager & Head Grower of Fujian Sananbio Technology Co, Ltd 

„Platforms like VertiFarm are important for the industry. You can meet potential customers and see how the industry is changing. We were not only an exhibitor but also a sponsor of VertiFarm. Our aim was to support the community as an industry leader. The visitors were very interested, and the right people were in the right place at the right time. We will be taking part again next year.”

EXHIBITORS

Dr. ir. Marc Kessels, VP EU Product Marketing & Technical Support Module EU Innovation Center of Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH 

„The organisation of VertiFarm is very nice. The main topic of a trade fair is to establish new contacts. For us as an international company, this was an important goal. VertiFarm is a successful venue for this. The quality of the visitors is extremely high and the stage programme is also really well received by the industry.”

Johann Waldherr, M.Sc. Horticulture Science, Business Development Manager of Würth Elektronik eiSos GmbH & Co. KG

„I particularly liked the specialised discussions at VertiFarm. The visitors knew exactly what they wanted. I also found the technical presentations very exciting and informative. VertiFarm is the ‘place to be’ for a community exchange.”

Julio Hernández, Hyperspectral Applications Manager of HySpex 

„This is our first time at VertiFarm. The AVF invited us personally because they thought we would be a good match for VertiFarm. They were definitely right. We had great interactions with both the visitors and the other exhibitors and learnt exciting things. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your product. We would love to be back next year.”

Gerd Hilpmann, Project Manager Downstream of PUEVIT GmbH 

„The visitors to VertiFarm were a colourful mix of suppliers, customers and the general public. The public relations work gave us great visibility and reach. That was our goal, because we wanted to introduce ourselves and network at the trade fair. Networking worked perfectly, especially with regard to our algae ice cream. People were very interested and it was nice to be able to show them directly on site what an end product with our technology could look like.”

START-UPS

Sven-Erik Asmussen, Founder of OnlyGreens
„Last year I was a visitor at VertiFarm and decided to be an exhibitor this year – for the first time ever. Our product fits perfectly with the theme of VertiFarm. The trade fair is the first port of call for the industry and it’s a great opportunity to present ourselves.”

Martin Molenaar, CEO of AVISOMO