An innovative vertical farm in Dubai – among the largest in the world – is using Siemens technology to push new food production solutions to their fullest potential.
Global food production is under pressure as populations grow and demand rises for environmentally responsible food. But innovation and technology are revolutionizing farming.
Siemens technology has been integrated throughout Bustanica, Dubai’s vertical farming project, with clear aims: ensuring efficient production, reducing waste and increasing the farm’s overall sustainability.
Vertical farming consumes 95% less water, and factors such as light, temperature, water and carbon dioxide can be controlled, maximizing output and efficiency and keeping growing crops all year and to a consistent quality.
Vertical farming is up to 100 times more productive than conventional outdoor farming. And as the biggest facility of its type in the world, Bustanica shows where the future of food production lies.
The facility reduces food transportation miles by providing production closer to consumption, ensuring fresh produce reaches consumers faster and at the peak of nutrition.
The Arabic word for an orchard or garden, Bustanica is the result of the partnership between Emirates Flight Catering and Crop One, plus the technology input of Siemens.
Stretching over 330,000 square feet, this $40 million facility is among the largest of its kind in the world. It’s capable of producing more than 1 million kilogrammes of foodstuffs a year, especially leafy greens, all free of pesticides, herbicides and chemicals.
Around 10–15% of Bustanica’s output goes towards the Emirates Flight Catering supply chain, ensuring passengers enjoy locally sourced, nutritious produce. The remainder goes to food service, retail outlets, hotels, restaurants and cafés. Within months of becoming operational, the facility had already started supplying 160 retail stores across the UAE.
Siemens technology is ideal for ensuring the Bustanica farm operates at optimum levels in reducing energy and water use, and we share a similar vision: to transform the everyday.
Siemens technology has been integrated throughout Bustanica, with clear aims: ensuring efficient production, reducing waste and increasing the farm’s overall sustainability.
Many of the solutions implemented here are significant. For example, the Siemens SINAMIC series variable frequency drives along with automation stations is designed to circulate water and maximize how efficiently water is used. So, when the water vaporizes it’s recovered and recycled back into the system. This saves 250 million liters of water a year compared to traditional outdoor farming.
The Smart Infrastructure building management system Desigo CC controls and monitors air conditioning and ventilation at Bustanica, while Digital Industries’ SIMATIC automation and control systems deliver optimal growing conditions by controlling the lights and CO2 levels required by the plants.
With our solution from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, we help Bustanica optimize their farming processes by making data-driven decisions.
Moreover, the smart infrastructure Siemens has put into Bustanica means it can sustainably scale up operations over time, enable the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the future, and become a model for other vertical farms around the world.
The technology provided by Siemens enables Bustanica to optimize the growing environment for leafy greens while enhancing the facility’s overall efficiency and sustainability.