Tungsram Opens Vertical Farm

An R&D purpose vertical farm unique in Central Europe was presented in the Újpest headquarters of Tungsram. The installation, which is based on technology evoking sci-fi movies, is one of the key factors for the food security of the future. The farm was established with the funding of the Hungarian Ministry for Innovation and Technology (ITM) and inaugurated by State Secretary László György and President & CEO of Tungsram Joerg Bauer.

The vertical farm of Tungsram in Budapest was partly financed by the Ministry for Innovation and Technology in the framework of the project called “Indoor agriculture – setting up a vertical farm”.

The production area of the farm is 150 square meters where in a hydroponic system microgreens and baby leaves are grown exclusively under artificial, LED lighting regardless of the time of day or weather. While it is commercial size the focus of the facility is R&D which makes it unique in Central Europe. The area is complemented by two smaller growth chambers where the research activity takes place and the company utilizes the results achieved here on the commercial size farm.

Tungsram can show the entire technology and the result of it (quantity, colour, taste of plants) for future customers as the main goal is to sell and build similar, complete farm systems for other growers.

The company has ties with several Hungarian universities and plans to further expand these relationships. During the negotiations even the idea of a university faculty outsourced to a Tungsram plant was brought up as this technology is worth being naturalised in Hungary and introduced to the experts of the future. Tungsram’s lamps for indoor farming are already being tested in the Dutch horticulture giant University of Wageningen, University of Reading in the UK or the Fraunhofer Institute known for its standard certificates.

"Tungsram celebrates its 125th birthday this year and each employee has contributed to social development first with the electric lamp, later with radio and TV. This technology that can be one of the solutions for the global food security problem is the opportunity of our generation”, Tungsram President & CEO Joerg Bauer said. "One of the factors of growth is that in 10 years – because of climate change, urbanisation and population increase – the world will need to provide 50% more food than now. All while arable lands are drastically decreasing.” For this reason, indoor farming can serve as an alternative for the food security of the world, however, huge development is necessary to be able to mass produce grains, rice, corn this way.