Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will be the first higher education institute in Scotland to open a vertical farm for research and education, with a half million-pound facility at its King’s Buildings campus in Edinburgh next year.
The project, which has received a £200,000 grant from the Scottish Government, will be used in key research into plant and crop science and will also be used by students.
The facility will grow nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables that have specific human health qualities, whilst analysing crop yield and growth rates with all resource inputs to compare their carbon footprint to other production systems.
It will operate on renewable energy sources from the national grid, supported by battery technology to manage peaks in energy demand.