The Knowledge Foundation Funds More Efficient CO2 Collection
Swegreen's CO2 intake as part of its farming service is about to become more high-tech and efficient, thanks to the innovative research project Carbon2Food.
All of Swegreen's farming systems are equipped with a CO2 intake that captures and stores carbon dioxide from the air inside the store, which is then released to the crops to boost their growth. Now, this process will be optimized through the Carbon2Food research project, with a total budget of 8 million SEK. Swegreen, Mälardalen University, and Sally R (Direct Carbon) have been granted 4 million SEK in research funding from the Knowledge Foundation.
The Carbon2Food project aims to develop an energy- and cost-efficient solution for carbon capture for indoor vertical farming. Swegreen plays a key role in the project, titled “Carbon2Food - Boosting sustainable vertical farming through CO2-fertilization from air carbon capture.” The research project is a collaboration between Mälardalen University, Swegreen, and Direct Carbon, a spin-off from Sally R, a Swedish proptech company focused on improving air quality and reducing energy consumption in commercial building ventilation.
One key activity within the project will be upgrading and enhancing Swegreen's CO2 intake system at the ICA Maxi Tornby farm in Linköping, making it more high-tech and efficient. The CO2 intake captures the carbon dioxide exhaled by customers in the store and uses it within Swegreen's facilities to increase productivity by providing crops with a higher availability of the CO2 necessary for photosynthesis. This solution also positively impacts energy efficiency and the store’s air quality.
"The project enables us to improve the carbon capture system we already connect to our in-store farms. The test facility for the project will be installed at Swegreen’s farming unit in ICA Maxi Tornby, Linköping," explains Sepehr Mousavi, Chief Innovation and Research Officer at Swegreen.
The project will run for 36 months, from autumn 2022 to 2025. The total budget is 8 million SEK, with approximately 4 million SEK provided as research funding by the Knowledge Foundation.
For more information:
Contact the project leader Professor Monica Odlare at Mälardalen University, monica.odlare@mdu.se, and/or Swegreen’s Chief Innovation and Research Officer Sepehr Mousavi, sepehr.mousavi@swegreen.se.