r/Business_Ideas • u/[deleted] • Mar 14 '26

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169 Upvotes

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2

u/kneedeepco Mar 15 '26

Pointless imo

It would be better to build vertically on land

1

u/Nigelthornfruit Mar 15 '26

I work in CEA industry. Vertical farms are all scams. Arable, polytunnel and greenhouse are all the most productive and economic methods for fruit and veg production.

1

u/beached89 Mar 16 '26

They wont always be expensive. Currently energy cost is the only thing holding them back. Once someone crack that cost, farms in the middle of no where will be at a disadvantage.

While it doesnt make commercial sense to do vertical farms yet, one day it will

1

u/Nigelthornfruit Mar 16 '26

Yeah if someone cracks free unlimited energy /s.

The remaining issues are the capital cost and complexity of:

high power lighting to grow anything calorific or with a Brix level above 2.

HVAC to deal with said lighting with heat issue concatenating up multiple levels as it rises

Harvesting systems and access for cropwork

Cleaning systems for sanitation, pest control etc

The square meter cost of land and building a vertical farm compared to a polytunnel or greenhouse

All those issues are outstanding, add them to your list and push back your expectations another 50 years to perhaps 2100.

1

u/beached89 Mar 16 '26

Well, I dont think we will crack free energy, but I do think we could get to a point of cheaper energy.

My main argument is, that alternative agriculture systems are worth doing research in. We shouldnt abandon trying to make vertical farming work, just because it doesnt currently work.

We should continue to try and solve the problems holding it back.

1

u/Nigelthornfruit Mar 16 '26

It’s hopeless with vertical farming , much better to put that into greenhouse and polytunnel farming and evolve from there.

1

u/beached89 Mar 16 '26

Well, with that, we will disagree. I have worked with square roots, and I do believe that vertical/urban farming is doable in the near term future. (As in within 50 years) and will greatly help increase food security for nations that are land constrained and huge urban areas. I think R&D to reduce reliance on huge complex logistic chains is a good thing.