At VertiFarm, the international trade fair for Next Level Farming and New Food Systems, leading players from the field of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) will be presenting their solutions for the agriculture of the future at Messe Dortmund from 8 to 10 October. The event brings together key industry representatives to create synergies that turn visions into reality. In its third edition, VertiFarm is cooperating with renowned partners from business, science and research, as it has done in the past two years.

Dortmund, 02 October 2024 – Traditional agriculture alone is no longer sufficient to ensure food security for future generations. Experts in the field of controlled environment agriculture are therefore working on new solutions in the area of vertical farming and new food systems. The aim is to conserve resources and deliver higher yields. A decisive factor for the progress of the sector is the partnership between representatives from business, science, research and public institutions. For the third time in a row, VertiFarm will bring together practical experience and market knowledge, innovative ideas and technological expertise at Messe Dortmund from 8 to 10 October. It promotes technology transfer and helps to generate important financial resources in order to accelerate innovation processes and bring marketable products to series maturity.

8th Summit of the Association for Vertical Farming brings together leading minds 

VertiFarm is once again organised by the Association for Vertical Farming e.V. (AVF) with its chairwoman Christine Zimmermann-Loessl. The energetic expert has been committed to vertical farming with vision and passion at national and international level for many years. At the 8th AVF Summit, which forms the supporting programme of VertiFarm, she will once again bring together experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and other players from the industry to discuss current developments, challenges and future trends, create synergies and initiate new thought processes.

Broad expertise with partners from business, science and research

The VertiFarm partners are once again presenting lighthouse projects for the agriculture of the future. Among others, the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT will be there. With its inFARMING® concept, the institute has developed an innovative concept for building-integrated agriculture. It enables resource-conserving food production in urban areas by utilising roofs and facades to grow plants, for example. One prominent example is the ALTMARKTgarten in Oberhausen, where agricultural produce has been grown on the roof of a job centre since 2019. Visitors to the VertiFarm can visit the project as part of an excursion. There are still a few places available.
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The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME presents its OrbiPlant® and OrbiLoop® systems. They have been developed to make vertical farming more efficient and scalable by using flexible conveyor belts for plant cultivation. These are lightweight, require no substrate and can utilise sunlight, making them suitable for integration into existing urban structures such as facades and roofs.

Agritecture, a consultancy founded by Henry Gordon-Smith and based in Brooklyn, New York, also aims to bring new agricultural concepts to cities. The aim is to solve environmental, social and economic problems, particularly in the context of climate change. Agritecture's work centres on the link between architectural design and agricultural practice in order to support sustainable food production in urban areas.



The European Photonics Industry Consortium EPIC is also an important partner of VertiFarm. The organisation focuses on promoting the photonics industry in Europe. Photonics is crucial for the development of modern technologies, including those used in vertical farming, such as innovative lighting systems and sensor technologies. Other partners of VertiFarm 2024 are the German Pharmaceutical Industry Association (BPI) and the Westfälisch-Lippische Landwirtschaftsverband e.V.