Aarhus, Denmark
October 18, 2011
The countries surrounding the North Sea are collaborating on reducing energy consumption in greenhouses in a new project led by scientists from Aarhus University.
On the one hand, commercial greenhouse growers would like to save energy for the sake of the environment, the climate and their finances. On the other hand, the greenhouse growers must be productive, efficient and competitive. The task is not as difficult as it may sound because research has revealed and developed a range of possibilities. This new knowledge must be set to work – and that is one of the aims of a new project involving six countries in the North Sea region.
Photo: Carl-Otto Ottosen
Having a coastline along the North Sea is not the only thing that the countries involved in the project have in common. The greenhouse growers in these countries are facing the same challenges and problems. The obvious solution is therefore for the relevant scientists and companies in these countries to share their knowledge and experience.
- The overall goal of the project is on the one hand to save energy by using and spreading already existing knowledge and on the other hand to create new knowledge that can reduce energy costs in commercial greenhouses. It is important that we involve a wide range of greenhouses and firms and focus on ensuring widespread dissemination to the industry. We must use each other’s knowledge and avoid carrying out the same experiments and studies, explains the leader of the new project, associate professor in crop physiology Carl-Otto Ottosen from Aarhus University.
The idea is to ensure optimal interaction between several production factors in greenhouses in order to minimise costs and increase quality and productivity. This will be done by including plant physiology, climate control, technology, and decision support systems aiming to disseminate knowledge but also generate new knowledge in collaboration.
The main themes in the project that the Danish partners will be working on are development of:
- low energy plant types
- dynamic control of climate, humidity, artificial light, including traditional supplementary lighting and the new diodes (LED)
The project will also focus on using energy-optimised partially closed greenhouses that use the latest technology.
The four-year project GreenGrowing is supported by The North Sea Region Programme (Interreg IVB) and will be carried out in collaboration with 8 partners from Holland, Belgium, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The research at Aarhus University is supported by funds from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, among others.
For more information please contact: Associate professor Carl-Otto Ottosen, Department of Food Science, telephone: +45 8715 8373, email: Co.ottosen@agrsci.dk
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