The world’s population is constantly growing, and so is the demand for food. The Dutch horticulture sector is a world leader in innovative plant growing methods, but their technologies are still very energy intensive. More than 10% of the total gas consumption in the Netherlands is for example used for crop production in greenhouses.
At the same time, solar energy is abundant, inexhaustible, and therefore has a high potential to substitute fossil energy usage. The sun provides more energy in 90 minutes than humans consume in an entire year.
The company Caventou became aware of the huge potential of solar energy and wants to incorporate photovoltaic technologies into greenhouses to contribute to a sustainable world. Their newest idea, “Power Plant” will make it possible to harvest electricity and food in one integrated system.
A full-sized “Power Plant” prototype is going to be displayed at the New Institute in Rotterdam in June 2018.
The goal of our project is to contribute to the design of this aesthetic and energy autonomous greenhouse for urban environments. To do so, we will first provide our client with an overview of state-of-the-art technologies for different greenhouse components. We will then identify suitable crops for such a greenhouse and provide a business model to successfully introduce the “Power Plant” into the market.
Albert These
Nanne Houtsma
