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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

aeroponics

LettUs Grow Raises $3.1M for Its Indoor Aeroponic Farming System

Bristol, UK-based agtech company LettUs Grow announced today it has raised £2.35 million (~$3.1 million USD) for its indoor aeroponic farming system, according to a press release. The round was led by Longwall Venture Partners LLP and brings LettUs Grow’s total funding to roughly $4.1 million.

The company, which was founded in 2015, has a patent-pending indoor farming system that relies on aeroponics and software to grow plants. Many vertical farms currently grow crops using hydroponic farming, where plants are rooted in a soilless medium and fed nutrient-enriched water. Aeroponics more or less lets the plant roots hang in the air, where they are periodically doused with a nutrient-enhanced mist.  

LettUs Grow’s system also has a software component, which automates the bulk of the farming work. Called Ostara, the software controls the entire farm, automating temperature and light control as well as when nutrients are delivered to plants. The system also collects data on crops from seed stage to harvest, which growers can analyze and use to improve their farm operations. The entire Ostara system can be controlled remotely.

Like a number of other indoor agtech systems coming to market, LettUs Grow’s farms are modular, which means businesses can add to them over time. Sizes start at 24 square meters (about 258 square feet). While they wouldn’t fit inside an apartment, they’re ideal candidates for unused indoor space at schools, hospitals, universities, and other institutions that would benefit from having an onsite farm.

A number of other indoor farming companies now use aeroponics to grow leafy greens, strawberries, and other crops. AeroFarms, based in New Jersey, is one of the most well-known entities out there. French startup Agricool and Denver, CO-based Altius Farms are a couple more among a growing number of examples.  

LettUs Grow has one growing facility running, which the company built in 2019. With the new funds, it will build out a second location, scale their existing technology, and develop new product lines to bring to market.

Is the Singapore Airlines-AeroFarms Deal an Anomaly or the Future of In-Flight Greens?

Singapore Airlines’ partnership with AeroFarms is cleared for takeoff. As of next month, the airline will offer AeroFarms leafy greens as part of the meals on its non-stop flight from NYC’s Newark airport to Singapore.

The two companies first announced the partnership in March of this year, and have been prepping for launch ever since.

AeroFarms, headquartered in New Jersey, grows different leafy greens using aeroponics that mist the roots of plants with nutrients, water, and oxygen. Like other forms of indoor farming, there is no soil or sunlight required to grow the plants. AeroFarms is considered something of a heavyweight in the vertical farming space, having been named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list in 2019. The company also just raised $100 million in fresh funding in July.

Right now, greens farmed indoors via aeroponics or hydroponics is a trendy topic in the food world, and a popular purchase item among those with some disposable income. Given that, it’s something of a no-brainer that Singapore Airlines — known for its ridiculously upscale experience — would be the first airline to start carrying these products. The NYC-to-Singapore flight is also the longest nonstop flight in the world and done with the Airbus A350-900, a massive, ultra-long-range plane built to accommodate lengthy flights that require multiple meals for passengers. Since this trip in particular is all about the premium travel experience (there’s not even an economy class), Singapore Airlines already offers passengers perks like a nutrition-focused menu designed by wellness folks at Canyon Ranch spa. Vertically grown greens fit right in.

As to whether such greens will show up on the average flight between, say Toledo and San Antonio, the answer is, probably not.

Companies are still trying to find ways to scale vertical farming operations to meet greater demand, but from both a spacial and economical perspective, that hasn’t happened yet. As well, most domestic flights have neither the time nor the money to offer full meals, let alone gourmet ones. When there’s any food on offer, it’s usually vacuum-sealed or shrink-wrapped. It was certainly not chosen by nutritionists at a spa.

So if you’re planning on splurging for a Singapore airlines flight in the near future, let us know how the greens taste with your dinner. For the rest of us, a $5 can of Pringles will have to do.

Scientists in Antarctica Grow Food Without Soil or Sunlight — Get Ready, Mars

Astronauts, you had better like salad.

AP News reported last week that a team of scientists at Germany’s Neumayer Station III in Antarctica had successfully grown their first crop of produce without any soil, sunlight, or pesticides. The goal of the project was to explore food growing methods for use on outer space missions.

In total the researchers harvested eight pounds of salad greens, including swiss chard, 18 cucumbers, and 70 radishes — enough for quite the veg-heavy feast. And this crop just the beginning. The German Aerospace Center said last Thursday that its scientists hope to harvest up to 11 pounds of produce per week by May.

The vegetables were grown inside a shipping container, which arrived in the Antarctic in January of 2018. The plants are grown through aeroponics, a method of cultivation that doesn’t require soil or sunlight. Instead, plants receive nutrients via a liquid (made of nutrient solution and filtered water piped into the greenhouse) sprayed onto their roots, and bask in LED lights in air that’s enriched with CO2. The growing system and greenhouse are part of the “Eden ISS” project, in association with the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Aeroponic farming is beginning to enter the home and specialty food markets, thanks to startups like Grove and AeroFarms. Since they rely on aeroponic mists and LED lights instead of sunlight and soil, these growing systems can support produce throughout the entire year, and in variable weather conditions. Including, apparently, the -20 °C (-4 °F) chill of Antarctica.

The Eden greenhouse. Photo: DLR via Flickr

This successful first harvest is a boost for scientists researching ways to grow produce on interplanetary missions where astronauts would be confined to tight quarters for several years. NASA already grew lettuce on the International Space Station earlier this year, but there are only so many salads you can eat before monotony sets in. This update from Antarctica shows that astronauts could replicate this growing system in space and cultivate a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in their ships  — and possibly, someday, even on Mars or the Moon.

NASA estimates that four crew members would need 24,000 pounds of food to sustain themselves on a three-year journey to Mars. Which can get very heavy and take up a lot of space. NASA is already working on light, durable packaging for interplanetary missions, but with a viable aeroponic system, they might not have to pack quite so much. Astronauts could grow at least a portion of their food on their ship, which would lighten the load (since there’s no soil required) and also give them access to fresh produce. Because freeze-dried ice cream must get old after a while.

This isn’t the only technology that might give astronauts more culinary options in space. The Japanese company Open Meals is working towards teleporting food through digitization and connected 3D bioprinters. If they reach their goal, astronauts could theoretically be snacking on tuna nigiri (or whatever else tickled their fancy) while orbiting the red planet. At least for now, though, they’ll have to settle for salad. Lots and lots of salad.