ENVIRONMENTAL/NET ZERO
Vertical farming, working together with traditional farming, will play a key role in feeding the ever-growing population, which is estimated to reach almost 10 billion by 2050
CULTIVATING THE FUTURE OF FARMING CULTIVATING THE FUTURE OF FARMING
behaviours has steadily increased since 2023, reflecting growing consumer awareness. Combining all these elements presents an opportunity for vertical farming to support traditional farming. Together, they can meet consumers' needs for year-round quality produce, while improving profitability and contributing to the collective effort of industrial decarbonisation.
Vertical farming not only helps secure the world’s food supply, the controlled
The technology used in vertical farming has the potential to provide support to farmers pursuing food sustainability, says Louise Liddiard, Key Account Manager – CPG Segment (Food & Bev), Schneider Electric
s global populations grow, food security is becoming more urgent. Traditional agriculture, which is susceptible to weather patterns and reliant on arable land, is struggling to meet existing crop production before even considering the increasing demand. Vertical farming aims to overcome unpredictable weather concerns by cultivating crops indoors, in vertically stacked layers. A controlled environment enables food production close to the final consumer, even in cities where land is scarce. It aims to support traditional farming to meet year-round consumer needs and essentially share the load, with vertical farming producing salad leaves, herbs and high-value crops and traditional agriculture tackling root and vegetable crops. The idea of vertical farming is not new but recent developments in next- generation automation and robotics are making it more viable, so the sector can realise its full potential in a sustainable way. So, what are the technology barriers associated with vertical farming? As with most advanced technologies, the first barrier is always start-up costs. That includes the cost of assets, which start at a higher price point than traditional agricultural equipment. Another major challenge is around energy usage and there are two aspects to it. The first is that the vertical farming process is complex and leaves very little room for error. In some cases, entire crops can be lost if watering and lighting is disrupted by an unstable energy source. In addition, vertical farming requires multiple energy-intensive systems to continuously operate, which can present a challenge for growers who want to trade on their sustainability credentials while remaining profitable. Energy prices in the UK can fluctuate based on global markets which, for a
A 24 MARCH 2026 | PROCESS & CONTROL
process like vertical farming that requires consistent and secure power, can significantly impact a business.
A dedicated digital partner can help businesses combat these challenges by deploying a digitalisation strategy that reduces cost from the investment stage and throughout operations and maintenance, while maximising the use of every energy resource. Smart IoT-enabled equipment empowers operators to collect data from artificial lighting, heating, cooling, hydroponics, monitoring, control, and irrigation into a single digital environment. This provides simple control over a complex environment. By embedding intelligence into each asset of a vertical farm, operators can track asset health and use predictive maintenance approaches. These actively reduce the high costs associated with maintenance while extending the lifespan of smart assets. Leveraging asset data also reduces energy costs and emissions by integrating with building management systems to identify energy-saving opportunities. Clever use of data at every stage in the process, enables growers to efficiently use every resource. These digital capabilities reduce both the initial investment and operating costs, removing one of the biggest barriers to development of vertical farming. The key to success in vertical farming is having agility to react to customer trends and combining this with consistency to deliver produce year-round in a sustainable controlled environment.
Consumers expect a high level of availability, quality, and variety in the supermarket but they’re becoming more aware of sustainability. According to Which?’s 2025 Sustainability Tracker, engagement in sustainable food
environment is also ideal for cultivating medicinal plants with high consistency and quality – essential in pharmaceutical production.
To unlock the potential of this new agricultural method, vertical farmers must find a way to combine complex automation and the latest digital capabilities. Three approaches will help.
First, vertical farmers can use the data already being captured by IoT-enabled assets. Tracking and analysis of operational data will continuously monitor the condition of equipment, enabling maintenance teams to take action before an issue occurs. Predictive maintenance helps reduce unplanned changes in the growing environment, which can result in entire crops being lost. Second, the same asset data also provides insight into how energy is used. It offers options to seamlessly integrate wider systems into the process, like building management to ensure optimal growing conditions.
Third, reliable data opens a door for vertical farmers to harness renewable energy by integrating solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage. An Energy Management Partner can use microgrids to integrate multiple energy resources while optimising costs. Microgrid systems can compare generation and loads and monitor the cost of energy on the grid to optimise when and how electricity is used. For example, it can cut consumption with automatic load shedding, participate in demand side response or sell excess energy when prices are high. This data can help to save capital that can then be used for future infrastructure investment.
Schneider Electric
www.se.com
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