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- Vertical Farming World Congress 2024
Vertical Farming World Congress 2024
Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers and customers, this 5th annual Vertical Farming World Congress is designed to help develop and advance the sector’s future. It is the most substantial dedicated event of the year, featuring two days of conference sessions, networking with key industry figures and presentation of the Vertical Farming World Awards 2024. For new entrants as well as industry leaders.
Sponsors
About
Zenith Global's Vertical Farming World Congress is the highest level and most significant dedicated industry event of the year.
Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers and customers, the 5th annual event in Frankfurt will assemble key industry leaders from around the globe to debate and advance the industry's future.
There will be two days of conference sessions, where industry leaders, innovators, suppliers, advisers and investors will share their insights through a series of presentations, interviews and interactive panel discussions, in addition to extensive networking breaks and a gala industry dinner where the Vertical Farming World Awards will be presented.
This year’s theme of Powering Up is designed to focus on
future opportunity, with sessions on energy, sustainability, hybrid systems,
protein alternatives and space exploration alongside market insights,
innovation case studies and leadership views.
Speakers include
Wednesday 25 September
Speaker to be announced
Peter Bachmann, Managing Director – Sustainable Infrastructure at Gresham House
Phillip Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Evolve Growing Solutions
Dr Chungui Lu, Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Phillip Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Evolve Growing Solutions
Peter Bachmann, Managing Director – Sustainable Infrastructure at Gresham House
Eri Hayashi, President of Japan Plant Factory Association
Dr Chungui Lu, Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Additional speakers to be announced
Refreshment and networking break
Speaker to be announced
Jesper Hansen, Chief Commercial Officer of YesHealth Group, Taiwan
Roel Janssen, Chief Business Officer of Planet Farms, Italy
Speaker to be announced
Tristan Fischer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fischer Farms, United Kingdom
Andreas Wilhelmsson, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ljusgårda, Sweden
Roel Janssen, Chief Business Officer of Planet Farms, Italy
Jesper Hansen, Chief Commercial Officer of YesHealth Group, Taiwan
Buffet lunch and networking
Jack Farmer, Chief Scientific Officer of LettUs Grow, United Kingdom
Ard van de Kreeke, Founder of Growy, Netherlands
Questions and discussion
Camille Hanna, Business Development Director for Skytree
Ramin Ebrahimnejad, Business Development Manager – Advanced Plant Growth Centre at James Hutton Institute, United Kingdom
Denis Weinberg, Founder and Managing Director of Umami, Switzerland
Questions and discussion
Refreshment and networking break
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Jessica Gomez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Origeen, Mexico
Kushal Gurung, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mutha Agro, Nepal
Questions and discussion
Close
Cocktail drinks reception
Gala industry dinner
2024 Vertical Farming World Awards presentation
Close
Thursday 26 September
Alberto Lopez, Systems Engineer at Agritecture, United States
Questions and discussion
Speaker to be announced
Fuling Li, Head of Inward Investment and International Campaign – Food Division of Welsh Government
Edward Burt, Senior Manager – Inward Investment, Food and Drink for Welsh Government
Refreshment and networking break
Speaker to be announced
Ritu Bhalla, Assistant Director – Agriculture Research and Innovation Centre at Republic Polytechnic, Singapore
Rixta Sievers, Research Manager for Grow Up Farms, United Kingdom
Speaker to be announced
Questions and discussion
Speaker to be announced
Dr Jennifer Bromley, Chief Scientific Officer of Vertical Future, United Kingdom
Speaker to be announced
Dr Yuval Gild, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of FreezeM, Israel
Questions and discussion
Buffet lunch and networking
Creating a closed ecological life support system Raymond Wheeler, Plant Physiologist and Senior Scientist for NASA Exploration Research, United States
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Questions and discussion
Close
Speakers
Ramin Ebrahimnejad
Business Development Manager – Advanced Plant Growth Centre at James Hutton Institute, United Kingdom
Ramin Ebrahimnejad, formerly Vice Chair of the Board and Head of Science at the Association for Vertical Farming, now serves as a Business Development Manager at the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, James Hutton Institute.
In his current role, Ramin focuses on spearheading initiatives that position the Centre as a critical hub for modern breeding techniques and climate adaptation strategies in plant production. His efforts are pivotal in fostering collaborations and partnerships aimed at integrating cutting-edge scientific research with practical applications to address the challenges of food security and sustainability in changing climatic conditions.
Alberto López
Systems Engineer for Agritecture
Alberto advises on optimization of operation and energy performance of greenhouses and CEA facilities. He worked for the University of Costa Rica in the topic of greenhouse climate control.
Dr Philip Lee
Chief Executive Officer of Evolve Growing Solutions, United Kingdom
A commercial farmer in his early years with degrees in Waste Energy Food systems integration, Soil Science, and seven years PhD development of Advanced Sustainable Food production systems design.
Tristan Fischer
Chief Executive Officer of Fischer Farms
Tristan Fischer is the green energy expert and visionary behind Fischer Farms, an independent business specialising in sustainable vertical farming.
The 4-acre site will house 25,000 m2 of growing space – enough to supply 6.5 tonnes of leaf salad, leafy herbs and other fresh produce to UK supermarkets every day – and will produce yields 250 times greater than conventional farms.
With a vision of transforming the future of farming through the latest vertical farming innovations, pioneering tech, and solar power, Tristan is set to achieve his ambition of delivering a scalable and more sustainable food production industry.
Throughout his career, Tristan has been involved in several large-scale clean energy infrastructure projects, and has worked with some of the world’s leading companies, such as Citigroup and Shell renewables. He has also supported some of the most promising SMEs, including Camco, which he listed on AIM, increasing shareholder value 6-fold.
Tristan was previously Chairman of University of Leeds spin-out, C-Capture, and Chairman and CEO of Lumicity, which developed over £145m of infrastructure assets in the UK agricultural sector, including solar projects and 179 biomass package plant rooms worth £25m for the poultry sector. He was board director of Dukosi Ltd, a smart battery company.
With a highly respected background in Agritech, other commercial interests have included FishFrom Ltd, a land-based salmon company; and Great British Prawns Ltd, a land-based shrimp company, both of which use Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology.
Tristan speaks passionately about resource depletion and climate change, the global balance of power, and the economic and societal challenges that face the world. His personal website, History Future Now explores these overlapping themes, looking at current events from a historical perspective, and contemplating the future.
As a sustainable farming evangelist, Tristan can provide thought leadership and commentary on topics including green energy, vertical farming and sustainable food production.
Dr Yuval Gild
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of FreezeM, Israel
Yuval Gilad is the CEO and Co-founder of FreezeM, a biotech company that revolutionizes insect farming using innovative breeding technologies.
FreezeM currently operates two industrial-scale BSF breeding hubs in Israel and Europe, assisting insect protein producers to improve their operational, financial and sustainability performances by supplying its flagship product PauseM®.
Prior to establishing FreezeM, Yuval completed a master and PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science in molecular biology. Yuval is a co-author of 9 academic papers and co-inventor of 3 patents.
Peter Bachmann
Managing Director – Sustainable Infrastructure at Gresham House
Peter is the Managing Director of Gresham House’s Sustainable Infrastructure division and Fund Manager for the British Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (BSIF) strategy.
Prior to Gresham House, Peter led the investment and exit of the Sustainable Infrastructure-focused Environmental Capital Fund (ECF) for SEP, one of Europe’s most successful VC firms.
With over 21 years of public and private equity investment, development, and fund management experience, including two top-decile infrastructure fund exits, he has invested into and exited over 200 infrastructure and technology companies across all sectors with an equity value of over £1.7bn and capital value of c.£5.5bn.
Peter has had board member roles on over 60 investee companies and is a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Peter is also an active investor in early-stage sustainability companies.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with honours and two further Bachelor degrees in Finance (BFin) and Commerce (BCom), all from the University of Adelaide, and is a proud graduate of CISL’s Business Sustainability Management programme.
Ard van de Kreeke
Founder of Growy, Netherlands
Ard van de Kreeke is the founder and CEO of Growy. He started Growy with the mission to make people happy with tasty, healthy, and affordable food grown locally in vertical farms all over the world. ty.
Dr Rixta Sievers
Research Manager for GrowUp Farms
Dr. Rixta Sievers holds a BSc (Hons) in Plant Molecular Biology and a PhD in Agriculture and Horticulture, specialising in the impact of UV-B on photosynthesis.
Eri Hayashi
President - International Relations and Consulting for Japan Plant Factory Association, Japan
Eri serves as president of the Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA), a nonprofit organization devoted to academic and business advancements in plant factory/controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
She is an Associate Member of the Science Council of Japan.
Jack Farmer
Chief Scientific Officer of LettUS Grow, United Kingdom
Jack Farmer is the Co-Founder and Operational Lead of LettUs Grow, a start-up using innovative aeroponic technology to design the next generation of indoor farms.
Andreas Wilhelmsson
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ljusgårda, Sweden
Andreas Wilhelmsson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Ljusgårda, and his team are reshaping sustainable agriculture with circular indoor ecosystems that consistently achieve best in class yields.
This year, Ljusgårda has reached another milestone by successfully launching an exciting new brand that clearly differentiates them from normal sallad and emphasizes their key advantages. Andreas is leading the company’s rapid growth journey, attracting a world class team of advisors, experts and investors.
Rickhard Hein
Managing Director of Micro Thumbs, South Africa
Kushal Gurung
Founder and Executive Chairman of Muthal Agro, India
Kushal Gurung is the founder and executive chairman of Muttha Agro pvt ltd, an agri-startup based in Nepal.
It grows mainly lettuces, kale, rocket, celery and basil that are sold in the local market through supermarket chains, and as well as directly to restaurants and households through online orders. It has been selling its produces at a same price consistently throughout the year.
Raymond Wheeler
Plant Physiologist and Senior Scientist for NASA Exploration Research, United States
Ray Wheeler is a plant physiologist and senior scientist in NASA’s Exploration Research and Technology Directorate at Kennedy Space Center, where he has led the advanced life support and plant research groups.
Dr Chungui Lu
Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Dr Chungui Lu is a Professor of Sustainable Agriculture in the School of Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
He leads Sustainable Agriculture Research Group at NTU. His research focuses on vertical farming and sustainable food (enhanced nutritional value in crops using different LED light spectra and nutrients), whilst optimising crop performance, especially the use of big data + artificial intelligence + machine learning to implement precise monitoring and control of light and nutrient solutions, which can maximize crop production with high quality, high yield, and low consumption. Current research interests include:
• Assessing the feasibility of IoT precision data solution for vertical farming
• Light-emitting diode (LED) lights regulate plant growth and development
• Improving the productivity, sustainability, and scalability of hydroponic growing systems
Jessica Gomez
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Origeen, Mexico
Roel Janssen
Chief Business Officer of Planet Farms, Italy
Roel Janssen is the head of Business Development at Planet Farms, a technology company that builds and operates fully autonomous vertical farms at scale.
Ritu Bhalla
Assistant Director – Agriculture Research and Innovation Centre at Republic Polytechnic, Singapore
Camille Hanna
Business Development Director for Skytree
Denis Weinberg
Founder and Managing Director of Umami, Switzerland
Dr Jennifer Bromley
Chief Scientific Office of Vertical Future
Dr. Jen Bromley, Chief Scientific Officer at Vertical Future, has 18 years of experience in applied plant science. Her PhD from the University of Cambridge in Developmental Botany has led to a career spanning academia and industry.
Jesper Hansen
Chief Commercial Officer of Yes Health Group
Jesper is Chief Commercial Officer of YesHealth Group, a Taiwan based vertical farming technology pioneer with a mission to transform agriculture and advance people’s health through the use of innovative vertical farming technology
Further speakers to be announced
Attendees
Attendees of the Vertical Farming World Congress 2023 included:
Location and accommodation
Location
The Vertical Farming World Congress 2024 will be hosted at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport Hotel, selected for its extensive facilities and convenient access for international attendees.
Located in 'The Squaire' building, the stylish and modern hotel offers direct access to Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1, as well as convenient access to the city centre by train. Opened in December 2011, the Hilton Frankfurt Airport Hotel offers air-conditioned rooms and suites with modern interiors, and has a 24-hour fitness centre, sauna and steam bath.
Accommodation
- An allocation of rooms is available at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport Hotel for €269 per night, inclusive of breakfast and VAT.
- An allocation of rooms is also available at the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport for €229 per night, inclusive of breakfast and VAT.
To reserve your accommodation at the negotiated rates, please visit this link.
Visas may be required from source countries. Zenith will be happy to help with visa support documentation where possible.
| Pay by 24 May Super saver rate | Pay by 26 Jul Early booking rate | Pay by 25 Sep Standard booking rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Congress | Each delegate | €925.00 | €1,025.00 | €1,125.00 |
| Concession* | €555.00 | €615.00 | €675.00 | |
| Separate elements | 25 Sep conference | €650.00 | €725.00 | |
| 25 Sep awards dinner | €200.00 | €225.00 | ||
| 26 Sep conference | €650.00 | €725.00 |
*A concession rate is offered to start-ups and early-stage entrepreneurs. To be eligible, you must have annual sales below EUR 1.2 million. For more information and to book at this rate, please contact events@zenithglobal.com
Substitutions will be accepted at any time. Cancellations will be subject to EUR 180 + VAT administration charge per delegate and cannot be made after 16 August. Bookings are subject to Zenith Global Event Terms and Conditions, available here.
Visas may be required from some countries. Zenith Global will be happy to help with visa support and documents where possible.
e events@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900
Testimonials
"Not just another 'conference' but a diverse curation of cutting edge thinking and hard hitting ideas. This is THE industry event." Jay Desan, BoomGrow
“A great event with an excellent organization team behind and a good choice of topics. Outstanding moderator in the Q+A sessions.” Christine Zimmermann-Loessl, Association for Vertical Farming
"As always, an extremely well-organized, well-moderated and thoughtful event." Rick Vanzura, Freight Farms
"If you want to get the real view of the global progress in vertical farming (without the hype), this is your event." Andreas Wilhelmsson, Ljusgarda
"Really informative event and networking with key industry players" David Morris, Welsh Government
"Well-organized and executed event. Days packed with market information, innovations, deep-dive discussions, opportunities and lots of networking. Keep up the good work Zenith Global!" Renko Schuil, TTA BV
“A great gathering of industry leaders to discuss innovation, challenges and future steps. Excellent opportunity for networking and identifying market opportunities.” Pavlos Poullaidis, Viscon Group
“Insightful. Pertinent. Will definitely be back! Great job to the organising team.” Pierre Swaelas, Yasai
“A must for anyone in the vertical farming space” Ron Mitchell, Clayco
"Great conference for high levels of information, as well as, detailed information on CEA.” Melanie Corey-Ferrini, 3.14DC
“I found the conference very valuable and the level of speaker’s world class. Great work.” Fotis Fotiadis, Better Origin
“A truly excellent and well organised event, with a great line up of speakers and topics, not to be missed.” Harriet Duncalfe, Berrygardens Ltd
“Excellent service delivery. Focused on achieving more with less.” Akan Ukwak, EnvisioGlobal
“I attended this event for gaining knowledge on CEA for my automation company serving the auto and fulfilment industry. Should we peruse this opportunity? Yes.” Robert Rodriguez, Alternative Engineering
“The organisation of the Congress was spotless. Richard is an outstanding MC, keeping the discussion engaging and interesting.”
"A great incite to the vast differences between the world of vertical farming and how each company has a lot of differences and at the same time a lot of similarities. Good to network with other people. Can't wait for it to be in person." Linzi Naisbitt, Light Science Technologies
“I've attended the Congress as an external operator (not currently involved in VF) and found it extremely informative. Excellent platform to establish connections and networking too.” Martino Picotti, Proriented
"It was an amazing experience to meet the industry leaders and understand the current trends of the industry."
“The host from Zenith asked clear and concise questions and it was enlightening to see vertical farmers of all business sizes and technologies bring experience, expertise and skills to the screen.” Innovation Agri Tech.
"We got sound feedback from the speakers, fund managers as well as industry leaders and start ups of their challenges and the information guided by Richard Hall's unique way of brining the best out of everyone. It simply works." Leo Lobato Kelly, Karma Verde Fresh
"It was my first time at Vertical Farming World Congress and it was amazing. A well planned event and good panellists/presenters. Lots of great takeaways. Thank you very much!"
“The congress was well organized -everything went smoothly. Topics were diverse and engaging, and they managed to conduct virtual tours of the farms which I found fascinating." Semillar Translations
"Great line-up of speakers and topics"
"Richard is a great panel leader. He knows his subject, lets panellists talk without disruption and allows them to exchange opinions without overlapping the subject or allocated time. Very impressed.” Josephine Favre, The African Association for Vertical Farming (AAVF)
"An excellent platform to interface with the leading companies globally in this new industry." Porohita Projects Ltd
"Excellent platform for getting involved with industry experts and for understanding the key market drivers. Great opportunity to network, collaborate, and develop strategic relationships across the spectrum of suppliers, influencers and experts" Dean Barron, Innovation Agritech Group
"Very grateful to join the event; the arrangement and content are all great and very fruitful! Thanks to the event team - very well prepared and skilful event planning! After the whole experience, you can tell that the team are so sophisticated in doing this type of Congress. Good Job!!!" Lyn Lam, Agrician
"It was great meeting the industry at the Vertical Farming World Congress and to hear about all the latest developments in this fantastic sector." Job Knook, RAI Amsterdam
"The event is a great platform to share ideas and concerns in vertical farming industry."
"A very professional and well-presented event with interesting speakers and subjects" Richard Shepherd-Barron, British Farmer and Grower
Sponsorship
Our event and awards sponsorship packages offer a unique and effective opportunity to showcase your brand and services to a highly relevant audience.
You can choose from our Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsorship packages, or we can create a custom sponsorship package to suit your specific needs and budgetary requirements.
Sponsorship opportunities include:
- Presentation within the main event programme
- Opportunity to host a workshop, roundtable or drinks reception
- Exhibit display in the networking area
- Distribution of marketing material / product samples
- Delegate passes
- Discounted delegate access for your clients
- Branding across event collateral, including stage backdrop, lectern and programme
- Logo on event webpage hyperlinked to your website
- Sponsored email communication to all attendees
- Sponsored social media posts
- Regular mentions in Zenith Global's event marketing and press releases
For information and pricing, please contact Francesca Hall, Events Director
e fhall@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900
Identity Statement & Industry Manifesto
Leading vertical farming companies have committed to a Vertical Farming Identity Statement and Industry Manifesto. An unprecedented industry momentum to contribute jointly to a sustainable transformation of global food systems.
Signing companies are
The Vertical Farming Manifesto was first signed at the Vertical Farming World Congress in Brussels (September 19-21 2022), with additional organisations having since joined.
Contact info@zenithglobal.com to enquire about joining this important industry movement.
Brussels, September 20, 2022 – Leading vertical farming companies signed the first Vertical Farming Manifesto and Identity - both clear and bold industry standards. They highlight the impact and contribution the industry intends to make to transform current food systems and help to solve one of humanity’s toughest challenges of providing food for a growing population in a sustainable, circular way.
The Vertical Farming Identity and the Manifesto describe the urgency of transforming current food systems and explain how vertical farming systems can contribute significantly to designing food systems which are resilient and future-proof. Through technological innovation, indoor vertical farming decouples food production from external factors like climate or public health crises. By localising production and controlling the growing environment, vertical farming provides pesticide-free produce, uses significantly less land and water, and requires fewer transportation miles.
Toward the industry’s goal of driving the transformation of food systems, the companies strive to set high standards by aligning with globally accepted impact frameworks, for example, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), B Corp, or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the industry is dedicated to continuously investing in research and development to improve vertical farming technology and grow even smarter and more sustainable food systems.
Awards
The industry's only Vertical Farming World Awards are designed to celebrate excellence and innovation across the global industry.
The awards are a great way for you to attract validation for present and potential future investors, enhance your brand and ensure your product, concept or campaign is recognised on an international scale.
The awards will open for entries on 17 April and run until 16 August 2024. Winners will be announced at a gala industry dinner on 25 September, during the Vertical Farming World Congress 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Categories
- Best Crop Development
- Best Resource Efficiency
- Best Sustainability Initiative
- Best Community Impact Initiative
- Best Research and Development Initiative
- Best Collaborations/Partnerships Initiative
- Best Start-up Innovation Achievement
- Best New Vertical Farming Facility
- Best Farm Design Innovation
- Best Product Marketing
- Best Product Packaging
- Best Technology Advancement
- Best AI/Automation Development
Initiatives can be entered into multiple categories.
For full details, please visit the awards page on our website or contact awards@zenithglobal.com.