Developing a circular model for low-emission, healthy TCEA food production

The project will drive the growth of world-leading Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA) capacity in the UK by creating and testing a new circular and scalable model for local low emission food production, by optimising TCEA production technologies to reduce running costs and improve productivity, and by developing a nutrient-rich biofertiliser that grows healthy, high nutrition foods.

This project will address the most serious threat to UK food supply -- the country currently imports 46% of its food needs, relying on long, centralised supply chains that are highly vulnerable to disruption. While TCEA has been projected to grow rapidly to help meet this £6 billion per year food production deficit, the pressing technological challenge for TCEA that this project will tackle is to reduce its high operating costs whilst improving resource efficiency.

To achieve this, the project will create a containerised TCEA food production facility powered by renewable energy to inspire increased sustainable local food production in the UK. The project will increase the productivity of TCEA through a number of innovations including developing a nutrient-rich biofertiliser using anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce a low-cost, lower-emission alternative to commercial fertilisers. It will also optimise TCEA efficiency by testing different production methods - including growing system technologies and substrates such as wool -- in order to maximise the nutritional value of the food produced.

The project will reduce the high overheads and emissions of TCEA by powering its containerised growing facility using renewable energy, including solar power and for the first time biogas from AD, to achieve a projected 30% reduction in emissions.

This project will develop a genuinely circular food production system that emphasises sustainable local production to achieve shorter, less centralised and decarbonised supply chains. It will demonstrate how to reduce the amount of land needed for food production by operating a TCEA on disused land.

The project will work in collaboration with experts from the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) and the University of York's (UoY) Centre For Novel Agricultural Products which is a centre of excellence using cutting-edge research to harness the power of nature for development of new products and processes, helping to deliver the FixOurFood programme and running its own experimental vertical farm. Our close partnership will strengthen and grow the region's bioeconomy which is already worth £91 billion per year, supporting over 400,000 jobs.