Following the successful start of the research collaboration to develop protein-rich plants for production in the OrbiPlant® Vertical Farming System at Fraunhofer IME Aachen, Veganz Group AG has now secured licensing rights to the underlying vertical farming platform technology for growing food crops as an exclusive license.
According to Veganz, the new technology will make it possible for the first time to grow staple foods in a regionally and economically viable way anywhere in the world and thus also in regions that have so far been dependent on expensive imports of staple foods due to their unfavorable climatic conditions.
Furthermore, the vertical farming technology can be directly coupled with further processing industries, which enables a complete value creation from cultivation to the finished food. To this end, Veganz will make its production plant for the manufacture of TVP (textured vegetable protein) pea-based meat alternatives modularly adaptable and available as an overall concept.
“Vertical farming is not a new business field and has so far been used mainly for the cultivation of lettuce and herbs for regional supply to retailers and wholesalers. With our approach of direct industrial utilization of the cultivated products, we are not only creating the basis for a profitable business model, we are also achieving local food security through the cultivation and production of plant-based staple foods regardless of the conditions (environment, climate) all over the world for the basic supply of the population with healthy, plant-based proteins and carbohydrates” says Jan Bredack, founder and CEO of Veganz Group AG.
“We are pleased that our patented OrbiPlant® and OrbiLoop® vertical farming platform technology is now acting as a door opener for the global industrial production of food crops under highly efficient indoor conditions, which is an important building block for the agricultural and nutritional turnaround against the backdrop of advancing climate change. We will expand our existing research cooperation with Veganz Group AG with regard to the development and optimization of the vertical farming production process for further food crops” says Andreas Reimann, Senior Project and Licensing Manager, Department New Agricultural Systems, Fraunhofer IME Aachen.
For more information, visit www.veganz.de and www.ime.fraunhofer.de.
