Chungnam Province to Develop Energy-Saving Vertical Farms with 4.3 Billion Won Investment

Selected for the Ministry of Agriculture's "K Vertical Farm Globalization Project R&D Competition"

Chungnam Provincial Government Building.

Chungnam Province is set to develop an energy-saving vertical farm utilizing renewable energy sources.

On the 1st, Chungnam Province announced that a consortium consisting of boiler manufacturer Kiturami, Yesan County, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, and three universities including Kongju National University, has been selected for the Ministry of Agriculture's "K Vertical Farm Globalization Project R&D Competition."

This project aims to develop a zero-energy-based vertical farm model, with a total budget of 4.36 billion KRW, including national funding.

Zero energy refers to the ratio of self-generated energy to consumed energy, and is classified into five grades based on this ratio.

The consortium aims to achieve zero energy grade 4 (producing 40% of consumed energy) by developing a vertical farm system based on building air conditioning technology utilizing solar power and fuel cells.

Through this, the plan is to establish a foundation for distributing advanced vertical farm models that reduce energy and resource consumption compared to existing vertical farms.

An Ho, Director of the Industrial Economy Bureau of the province, stated, "Being selected for this competition is a recognition of the province's vision and technological capability for sustainable agriculture," adding, "We will build a successful vertical farm model through organic cooperation among industry, government, academia, and research institutes."