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Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic

bibliographical review

Article in Food Security · January 2020

DOI: 10.1007/s12571-019-01003-z

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Food Security
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-01003-z

REVIEW

Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic

bibliographical review
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki 1 & George Xydis 1

Received: 4 September 2019 / Accepted: 23 December 2019

# International Society for Plant Pathology and Springer Nature B.V. 2020

Abstract
In recent years, several global issues related to food waste, increasing CO2 emissions, water pollution, over-fertilization,
deforestation, loss of arable land, food security, and energy storage have emerged. Climate change urgently needs to be addressed
from an ecological and social perspective. Implementing new indoor urban vertical farming (IUVF) operations is one way to
combat the above-mentioned issues as well as foodborne illnesses, scarcity of drinking water, and more crop failure due to
infection from plant pathogens and insect pests. A promising production mode is plant factories (PFs), which are indoor plant
production systems completely isolated from outside environment. This paper mainly focuses on the comprehensive review of
scientific papers in order to analyse the different applications of urban farming (UF) based on three different dimensions: a) the
manufacturing techniques and equipment used; b) the energy that these systems require, the distribution of energy, and ways to
minimize the energy-related cost; and c) the technological innovations applied in order to optimize the cultivation possibilities of
IUVF.

Keywords Plant factories . Urban farming . Water-food-energy Nexus . Energy demand

1 Introduction 2016). The constant migration into urban areas lead to air,
noise, and water pollution due to factors such as concrete
Urbanization and extremely rapid growing populations buildings and hard surfaces, lack of vegetation, increase of
change city features and convert them into chaotic mazes. urban heat islands, and global warming, among others. With
Considering that the world’s population has reached 7.6 bil- 75% of the global population projected to be located within
lion and will number almost 9.5 billion people by 2050, we urban areas in a few decades, we will experience a“global
have to support and improve the agricultural footprint needed generational amnesia” on how to grow food (Barthel 2013).
for the constant cultivation of everyday products for consump- Today, agriculture uses approx. 70% of the Earth’s avail-
tion (Langelaan et al. 2013). Today, we use land equal to the able fresh water for irrigation, making it inappropriate for
size of South America in order to grow food and raise live- drinking as it is being polluted with pesticides, chemicals,
stock to feed the global population. Since each person daily and herbicides. In fact, in a few years, it will be impossible
requires a minimum of 1500 cal, the calculations show that to find drinkable water, especially in certain densely populated
with the increase in population and the farming practices that regions. As stated by Barbosa et al. (2015), the amount of
are applied globally today, we will have to cultivate another water used to produce 1 kg of lettuce using traditional agri-
Brazil’s worth of land, i.e., 2.1 billion acres (Despommier culture techniques is comparable to filling a big freezer. It is
2009). As the global population is growing at a rapid speed, now more than ever necessary to design and apply innovative
at least 60% more food production will be needed (Carey et al. growing techniques in indoor environments. Indoor urban ver-
tical farming (IUVF) is a novel type of indoor cultivation that
uses up to 90% less water for the same yield production of
* George Xydis lettuce. Areas where staple food crops are cultivated already
[email protected]; [email protected] face difficulties with efficient irrigation (e.g.,drought and/or
unstable rainfalls), while at the same time, household water
1
Department of Business Development and Technology, Centre for demand continues toincrease due to urban expansion along
Energy Technologies, Aarhus University, Birk Centerpark 15,
7400 Herning, Denmark
with the desire and the expectations of a better quality of life.
 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

One of the most demanding costs of farming is the con- cavity walls, loose fill insulation, lightweight foam concrete or
sumption of huge quantities of fossil fuels. According to low density aggregate. Bacteria and disease control is of vital
Despommier (2009, 2013), 20% of all gasoline and diesel fuel importance in the IUVF as it can reduce the infection and yield
is consumed in the US. The price of food directly related to loss. Furthermore, in IUVF since water is traceable, the nutri-
fuel prices was one of the reasons why food costs almost ents and the environment is totally closed, managing to reduce
doubled in most parts of the world between 2005 and 2008. the risk of potential air or moisture contamination making this
A big part of the agronomic society believes that giving technology a sustainable food process. The cleanness of the
industrial farming more intensive cultivation methods with systems can be achieved with either floor cleaner, specific
heavily mechanized farming consortia using genetically mod- worker suits, dosing systems or quality sensors, which moni-
ification plants and more powerful agrochemicals can increase tor constantly the farm(Barthel and Isendahl 2013; Besthorn
the growth of crops with massively higher yield efficiency. 2013; Benke and Tomkins 2017).
This, however, is only a short-term solution; the rapid shift
in climate will continue to rearrange the agricultural land- 1.1 Advantages of IUVF
scape, balking even the most promising and sophisticated
strategies. For a low-carbon-driven society, sustainable green- As observed by many researchers (Despommier 2012; Kozai
house plant production systems will play an important role in 2016), IUVF has many advantages over open- field agricul-
plant production, as these provide the opportunity to cultivate ture. IUVF provides a sustainable way of cultivation, and it
plants at low cost while improving the water economy as well helps prevent climate change, since the cultivation does not
as reducing CO2 gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption. produce any agricultural runoff. IUVF and all the closed loop
When leafy vegetables grow outdoors, they tend to vary in cultivation use almost 70% less water compared to conven-
quality and productivity due to weather conditions, soil fertil- tional outdoor farming; aquaponics techniques (Cunningham
ity, texture, organic matter, pH, and many other factors. In 2017) use even 90% less water. Since the cultivation room is
contrast, when plants are cultivated in greenhouses, produc- located in a closed, protected environment, the crops are not
tivity and quality greatly increase. Indoor farming can offer affected by severe weather conditions (e.g., floods, heatwaves,
many advantages over open-field agriculture; the most impor- and drought). Furthermore, IUVF can be established wherever
tant is that it allows farmers to control the conditions that are in the world (e.g., in abandoned buildings in cities), as this
crucial for the optimal growth, survival, maturing, and har- method of cultivation does not require soil or sunlight for the
vesting of the plants, while also ensuring the maximum yield growth of the plants. In other words, this type of agriculture
per square foot of growing space. Today, there are many can be located anywhere, thus minimizing the food miles.
methods for greenhouse cultivation in terms of construction IUVF leads to significantly reduced pre-harvest of crop or
and treatment techniques. A wide variety of vegetables and even an elimination of the crop prior to harvest (‘pre-harvest
fruits (50% of the greenhouse plants that are globally grown shrink’), which will establish the option for buying on-de-
are tomato cultivations) as well as some species of fish (e.g., mand, ultra-fresh, locally grown, pathogen-free food. This
tilapia and trout) prosper under almost ideal conditions of can lead to job creation in the primary sector of the economy
temperature, humidity and CO2 by employing IUVF. – both in urban and suburban areas – as there will be a need for
There are different types of IUVF according to the shape more labor to run the nursery, manage seed germination, trans-
and the size of the farm. It can be from a simple two-layer plant the seedlings into vertical farms, facilitate resource pro-
system of vertical cultivation benches one above the other, to a curement and management (water nutrient, growing systems,
large warehouse with multiple stories. It could be a shipping- lighting systems, and automation), and monitor the plants’
container with indoor cultivation either in columns or in ver- growth. Additionally, well- engineered IUVF can minimize
tical layers or urban building-based farms (abandoned build- or even eradicate the possible post-harvest losses associated
ings, rooftops) for local food production (Despommier 2010). with microbes (plant pests) without the use of toxic pesticides.
One of the basic common characteristics of this type of farm- Nutrient solutions used do not contain any metabolic by-
ing, is the growing system that is either hydroponic (soilless products from human metabolism, thereby avoiding altogeth-
nutrient solution), aeroponic (soilless air/mist solution) or er the problem of fecal contamination of food sources by de-
aquaponic (co-cultivation of hydroponic plants and fish). sign. Moreover, IUVF can be combined with aquaculture,
IUVF are thermally insulated constructions and nearly airtight mushroom culture, and fermentation systems for mutual effi-
structures as the purpose is to be isolated from outdoor envi- cient use of their respective wastes as resources. Last but not
ronment totally controlled in terms of temperature, humidity least, waste water, vegetable waste, and CO2 produced in
and CO2. Since we want to maintain an indoor temperature urban areas can be reused, after proper processing, as essential
for the crops, which is different from the outdoor temperature, resources (water, CO2, and fertilizers) for growing plants in
it is very important to provide thermal insulation specifically IUVF. Waste to energy can happen in many different ways in
in the top floor of the building. This can be achieved by either the built environment (Nikas et al. 2018; Sotiropoulos et al.
Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review

2019). In IUVF, in specific, waste heat energy can be used for digitalization; 4) environmental control; 5) cost demand; and
heating greenhouses in winter and for other purposes (Omer 6) cultivation techniques.
2008). In relation to the energy consumption trend, the research
The recent technologies create a new environment of cul- has further mapped the geographical impact of sustainable
tivation both for businesses and for the urban public with new agriculture by identifying the regions that primarily focus on
possibilities and perspectives. Multi-layer vertical growing sustainable agriculture, and how these regions have developed
systems are installed in Plant Factories (PF) in order to save the need for and the prospects of more promising techniques
growing space in urban areas. Usually, cultivation areas are that can lead to more efficient yields in terms of lower energy
located miles away from urban areas, for which reason demand and innovative technologies. The results show that
farmers and transportation companies have to travel long dis- Europe (primarily Western and Southern Europe) is most ac-
tances to reach the hot spots of the food markets. PFs can tive in sustainable urban agriculture, followed by Asia and the
speed up the transition towards a more sustainable production. US. Furthermore, the research has identified relations of the
Researchers’ estimation in terms of the productivity of PFs above trends, and, finally, the research has examined the im-
vary according to the means of cultivation, the selected crop, pact of digitalization in new technologies to improve and
and the techniques used. According to Kozai (2015), PFs have evolve urban agriculture and PFs. The results from the re-
higher (more than 100 times) annual productivity per unit of search have confirmed that sustainable urban agriculture
land area compared to open-field agriculture. Additionally, and, more specifically, the innovative PFs are becoming a
depending on the greenhouse installation (if includes artificial revolutionary trend with increasing interest not only from rel-
lighting or not) the yield production can be around 3-4 kg evant professionals but also from organizations, companies,
m-2y-1 of dry weight production, in comparison with IUVF and academia striving to build an intersectoral water-energy-
that their productivity is more than 5 kg m-2y-1 of dry weight food nexus under a smart city 2.0 sustainable growth plan.
production. Graamans et al. (2017), state that for the produc-
tion of 1 kg dry weight of lettuce, almost 250kWhe is required
in a PFAL installation, in comparison with a greenhouse with
artificial lighting that requires approximately 210 kWhe of 2 Analysis
energy.
It should be stressed that PFs provide water savings when The motivation for studying urban agriculture is that it is an
cultivating plants; vegetables are planted in hydroponic sub- innovative technology that is still complex, and this project
strates (e.g., perlite, coconut fiber, rock wool, vermiculite, aims to evolve demographics, water, energy efficiency, cost
etc.), and the water that irrigates the plants is enriched with analysis, digitalization of pioneering technologies, cultivation
the nutrient solution for the maximum possible yield that can techniques, and environmental controls of crops for a sustain-
be achieved (Khandaker and Kotzen 2018). PFs reduce soil able food production. The diversity of knowledge areas linked
and water pollution compared to conventional outdoor farm- to the urban agriculture concept is a challenge for modern day
ing practices, involving an excessive use of fertilizers, society as cultivating enough crops to support the world’s
chemicals, and soil improvers. PFs exclusively use hydropon- population is becoming increasingly difficult.
ic solutions, and in this way, the nutrients are mixed with the In this research, reliable sources of data from different re-
water and follow a circulating procedure. search institutions, universities, and commercially viable fa-
This literature review aims at providing the interested cilities in the form of scientific articles, journals, conference
parties in PFs with a comprehensive understanding of 1) proceedings, and a number of reliable newspaper articles have
how they can contribute to minimizing energy consumption been analysed. The evolution of the publications throughout
in crop production; 2) the energy use efficiency of electrical the years as subtracted from the reviewed urban agriculture
energy and renewable energy demanding on the production publications in the period 2004-2018 has been analysed. The
system; 3) the improvement and integration of the new tech- first publication related to hydroponic cultivations was done in
nologies and digitalization trends for improving the growth of 2004 (Fig. 1). The number of publications on hydroponic
plants as well as monitoring the plants in order to gain a cultivations in urban areas have increased slightly over the
competitive advantage in the real market. Based on an exten- years, where on average 2-3 publications addressing the cor-
sive statistical analysis of 93 scientific and management con- relation between hydroponic systems, energy efficiency, and
sulting studies, this research addresses the following: First, it digitalization have been published. Nonetheless, starting with
maps the evolution of hydroponic, closed-loop systems and 2012, a significant increase in the number of publications can
the sustainable agriculture over a period of almost a decade. be seen in the Fig. 1, where in 2012 and 2013, 8 papers were
Second, the research reveals the top six main trends associated published, followed by 11 papers in 2014, 15 papers in 2015,
with energy consumption and energy demand in hydroponics. 12 papers in 2016, 13 papers in 2017, and 6papers in 2018 (till
These are: 1) the theoretical aspect; 2) energy; 3) June 2018).
 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

Fig. 1 Publications on UF from

2004 to 2018

In 2012, Professor Dickson Despommier from Columbia ethnically and culturally diverse, significantly larger, poorer,
University, introduced the idea and the concept of sustainable and less well-nourished than current urban populations with a
urban agriculture. He mentioned the difficulties that open- high demand for stable, accessible and nutritious food
field cultivation face in terms of the high demands for water, (UNFPA, 2007). Combining this information with the above
fertilizer consumption, and the huge amounts of CO2 emis- graphs (Figs 1 2 and 3), it can be deduced that the majority of
sions into the atmosphere due to the transportation of the the researchers who have studied the geographical impact of the
products from their production site to the urban consumers. evolution of sustainable urban agriculture come from modern
He introduced the pioneering terms of vertical farming (VF) and developed continents. This can be explained by the fact that
and sustainable urban agriculture, and how these new cultiva- in those regions, there is a great need for advanced and
tion methods would allow for greater yields, more ecological- pioneering technologies that can offer consumers a more ecolog-
ly friendly crops, and high- quality vegetables for the con- ically and economically sustainable agriculture. As a result, we
sumers. The concept spread rapidly throughout Europe and can be convinced that the expansion and development of sustain-
Asia, and around 2015, Professor Toyoki Kozai from the able urban agriculture hold promise for urban locales struggling
University of Chiba in Japan introduced the concept of with chronic food security problems (Besthorn 2013).
PFAL (Plant Factory with Artificial Lighting), where plants The appearance and the growing research of IUVF in the most
are cultivated in a totally artificial environment, which can be industrialised regions can also be explained by the huge unem-
built anywhere, thus offering improved local production for ployment rates in the urban regions. Urban agriculture provides
local consumption of health and safe leafy vegetables. opportunities for new job positions in cities. IUVF can help
With 47 scientific papers (Fig. 2), Europe ranks as the most alleviate chronic unemployment issues that many urban environ-
active continent focusing on Indoor Urban Vertical Farming ments are facing. In addition to creating jobs within the IUVF
(IUVF), followed by Asia with 33 publications, and USA with infrastructure, urban agriculture also contributes to the creation of
21 publications. Taking a closer look at Europe, the IUVF ancillary jobs, such as workers, engineers, marketers, merchants
publications have been distributed per European region. etc. As stated by Liaros et al. (2016), in a number of countries
Figure 3 shows that the IUVF publications predominantly worldwide, the real estate market is currently characterised by a
originate from Western Europe (19 publications of which most weak demand and excess supply mainly due to high unemploy-
come from the Netherlands and the UK), where universities ment rates and taxation, liquidity shortage, and loss of confidence
and research groups have access to high-tech and well- in the banking system; factors which lead to a sharp decline in the
equipped facilities to support research leading to improve- market. IUVF proposes a new plan for reuse of available urban
ments in this field. With 14 publications, Southern Europe is space as well as production of fresh leafy vegetables and herbs
the second most active region focusing on HUC (Hydroponic for local production.
Urban Cultivation), followed by Northern Europe (with 6 As observed in Fig. 4, less than one decade ago, hydropon-
publications), where countries, such as Denmark, mainly fo- ic urban agriculture (HUA) trends were not a common topic of
cus on energy consumption and energy efficiency of HUC. academic debates; few publications addressed digitalization
The region that focuses least on HUC is Central Europe (with and the technology achievements in urban agriculture as well
4 publications). as the new renewables forms of energy. The average number
By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban of published papers addressing these issues was 2-3 papers per
areas (Walsh 2009). Future megacities cities will be more year from 2004 to 2011. In 2012, the number of IUVF
Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review

Fig. 2 Publications demonstrated

on a global scale

publications increased significantly; the same year as new, Europe (Western Europe and Southern Europe). The top
innovative ideas and programming trends began to emerge trends in these regions are energy and digitalization of urban
in order to improve the urban agriculture and create different agriculture. Asia is the continent with the most promising and
types of cultivations in urban areas (e.g., PFs). Following rising interest in this new type of cultivation. As mentioned by
2015, a huge interest in profitable urban agriculture started Xu (2014), Asia is a large agricultural continent with a signif-
and resulted in the highest number of IUVF publications icant energy consumption, and the environmental pollution
(14) registered. These publications mainly focus on energy issues are caused by the conventional fossil fuel resources
efficiency and consumption, IUVF locations, renewable ener- and have imposed heavy burdens on sustainable development
gy, and digitalization, which has increased significantly in this (Manos and Xydis 2019). The second-ranked region, USA,
domain. However, a number of other papers have also been has the same pattern as Asia with focus on energy, and digi-
published that examine the different ways of cultivating in talization. In addition, many publications include theoretical
IUVF and how the production yield will be affected. Finally, aspects of the promising IUVF, and many research groups also
a few papers also focus on the environmental control of HUA focus on cost demand as well as environmental control. The
and how it can be improved (e.g., become more accurate and third- and fourth-ranked regions to focus on HUA trends are
less unstable) through the progress of digitalization. In order Western and Eastern Europe, respectively, with main focus on
to get a more detailed overview, the authors have aimed to energy and digitalization. Finally, Northern Europe primarily
show the IUVF trends in each scientific area focus (Fig. 5) focuses on digitalization and energy research.
The results are very diverse according to each scientific Another important factor that has been studied in this re-
area and region (Fig. 5a). The regions focusing most on the search is the tendency of the published papers in the six dif-
new urban agriculture trends are Asia, USA, and two parts of ferent trends during the years. As can be retrieved from Fig.

Fig. 3 a) Publications in
percentage per continent, b)
publications in percentage per
region
 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

Fig. 4 The evolution of

publications in HUA from 2004
to 2018

5b, the publications mostly focus on the aspect of energy, as it past decades, a major global problem has arisen related to crop
is the one area that needs more effort in optimization. Over the yield based on energy consumption. Hatirli et al. (2005) states

Fig. 5 a) IUVF trends per global

regions; b) references per trend
Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review

that the average energy consumption of a fully equipped pro- possible in terms of the potentials for improving agricultural
duction unit can reach 106,716.2 MJ/ha with an average yield methods and productivity to reduce energy consumption.
around 160,000 kg/ha. Van Ginkel et al. (2017) found that
hydroponically grown vegetables consume 30 times more en-
ergy than outdoor-grown vegetables. Sustainability and ener- 3 Discussion
gy efficiency is a main research topic and how it can be im-
proved under different cultivation techniques and use more 3.1 Energy
renewable energy resources in farms (such as solar, wind,
biomass, geo-thermal, biofuels etc.). Finally, the second sig- As Chen et al. (2014) summarizes, systems that use fossil fuels
nificant factor of interest of the published papers is the digita- for their optimal function face important drawbacks. These
lization trend throughout the years. More and more research include the transportation of the fuels to the generator’s loca-
groups focus on creating new technologies that are necessary tion, the disturbance of livestock due to noise and exhaust
for a more sustainable agriculture and product production by fumes released into the environment, the continued increase
design. Digitalization is becoming the core interest in a wide in fuel costs and emission that pollute the soil, and the main-
variety of functions in the new technologies, including mech- tenance of generators and mechanical systems. The first re-
anizations, selective breeding, and genetic manipulation, and search results of commercialised PFs were published in 2009
leads to a significant increase in crop yields and reduced pro- (Speetjens et al. 2009), where vegetable production in green-
duction cost in a sustainable environment. houses became crucial in the globe’s agriculture sector.
The majority of the papers refer to more than one perspec- Pahlavan et al. (2012) estimated that electricity demand is
tive of IUVF and are found in different combinations of the the highest cost from the total energy input (75.68%) in a
main keywords. The most common is that the published pa- greenhouse that consumes 65.57 MWh ha-1 for basil produc-
pers highlight the energy demand of IUVF in the context of tion. Out of this, 80.05% of the total energy used was direct,
renewable energy (included in the energy group), which is while the contribution of indirect energy was 19.95%. The air
usually combined with a more economical and efficient use conditioners, which are used in the cultivation area, are mainly
of energy as well as digitalization with state-of-the- art tech- used for cooling purposes and dehumidification and their pur-
nologies to improve the control, monitoring and yield of the pose is to eliminate heat, which is generated from the lamps.
plants. PFAL consist of well thermal insulated walls and high level of
As shown in Fig. 6, 34% (i.e., one-third) of the total pub- sealed walls in order to be able to cool down the temperature
lished papers cover three different trends, 23% includes four while the lighting is on. This process takes place during winter
different trends, and almost 20% of the publications combine seasons, as the goal is to retain satisfactory internal tempera-
two different trends. With Fig. 6, we can conclude that the ture conditions. Another drawback of these systems is the low
majority of the researchers try to see urban agriculture from level of energy delivered by the system (water at 40°C)
different perspectives and retrieve as much information as (Adams et al. 2007).

Fig. 6 Number of references in

each publication
 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

Today, the need for a more sustainable and efficient culti- Energy demand and energy management are some of the
vation method as well as more and better quality products is most discussed subjects in the existing literature. Researchers
urgent. The new types of cultivation propose soilless sub- constantly try to create a correlation between the energy con-
strates and growth chambers located in the urban network sumption inside the cultivation area and how this can be con-
and working in a sustainable and eco-friendly way. trolled using different technologies. The commercial IUVF in
Generating electricity and heating from biofuels and a large-scale deployment has the highest energy demand as
renewable energy sources has become a high priority in the compared to other agricultural industry sectors. For this rea-
energy policy strategies at a national level as well as on a son, energy management is important from a broad sustain-
global scale. Canacki et al. (2006) note that the operational ability perspective (Vadiee and Martin 2013a, b; Ma and Chan
energy and energy source requirements of the greenhouse 2016; Harbick and Albright 2016).
vegetable production are found between the ranges of Indeed, the energy consumption is an important cost ele-
23,883.5-28,034.7 and 45,763.3-49,978.8 MJ/1000 m2. ment for optimal production. For this reason, many re-
Studies showed that production of 1 kg dry weight of lettuce searchers have focused on the possibility of combining
requires an input of 247 kWhe in a PF compared to 70, 111, IUVF with the different types of renewable energy (Fig. 5b).
and 211 kWhe in greenhouses in the Netherlands, United Using renewable energy is a practice toward sustainability and
Arab Emirates, and Sweden, respectively which can be re- is suitable for developing countries without green energy
duced by up to 30-40% depending on the technology applied (Safikhani et al. 2014). Examples of important renewable en-
(Graamans et al. 2018; Dyer et al. 2006; Vadiee and Martin ergy systems are ground source-based systems, day-lighting
2013a, b). Furthermore, a reduction in the daily average set- systems, and solar-based energy systems. Renewable energy
point temperature leads to a 16% decrease in the annual ener- allows users to find the most efficient, cost-effective, and eco-
gy demand The use of fossil fuels such as kerosene, diesel, friendly type of energy for the operation of the growth cham-
and propane to power generators in agricultural operations has bers. Many new technologies have been designed for the de-
caused many problems over the years. Most of the researchers velopment and industrialization of IUVF. Most of the pub-
seem really interested in the combination of IUVF together lished papers that have been examined in this study focus on
with the different forms of energy that can be consumed. The renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric,
electrical energy fixed in the salable part of plants as chemical and geothermal energy for electricity production; many of
energy is 1-2% at the highest and less than 1% in most con- which have been tested with different cultivation techniques
ventional PFs. The remaining 98-99% electrical energy is con- under different protocols (Farzaneh-Gord et al. 2013). Some
verted into heat energy in the cultivation room (this is why the of the most common research areas are photovoltaic solar
heating costs of a thermally well-insulated PF is practically panels, heat pumps for cooling (and heating) (Tong et al.
zero – even on a very cold winter night) (Kozai et al. 2015). 2012), superheated steam, and wind turbines (Khattab et al.
As stated by Shamshiri et al. (2018), the three largest opera- 2016). In all publications, many different pioneering devices,
tional costs (excluding electricity) in the commercial IUVF are indices, and units aiming at optimal plant cultivation with
1) labor costs (27% of the total cost), 2) electricity costs (25- lower energy consumption and more effective use of renew-
30% of the total cost) and 3) capital costs (18-20% of the total able energy can be found (Chel 2010; Vadiee and Martin
cost). The packaging materials and delivery services of the 2014).
production companies can reach up to 12% of the total pro- It has been revealed that IUVF systems and/or solar thermal
duction costs. However, indoor urban agriculture compared to system would be suitable options in hydroponic greenhouse
open-loop systems increases the yield potential by up to 20%, applications (Hassanien et al. 2016). Moreover, solar technol-
and the total energy demand can be reduced by 30-40% based ogies are environment friendly, require low maintenance, have
on the already existing technology. Vadiee and Martin (2012) no fuel costs, and increase the overall productivity by integrat-
note that a closed system of cultivation can supply almost ed PV panels in IUVF. The majority of the publications focus
three times more than its annual heating demand. The electric- on the potentials of solar energy in combination with a sustain-
ity consumption inside the IUVF is approx. 57% of the daily able cultivation system (Ganguly et al. 2010; Sonneveld et al.
consumption for the heating system (and categorised as the 2010; Carlini et al. 2012; Marucci et al. 2012; Kubo et al.
most consuming part), followed by the water pump (18%), 2016). Well-designed, modern, and simple-to-maintain solar
with the LED lighting consuming almost 12% (Delaide et al. systems that provide the energy needed at a given location
2017). According to Kozai (2016), applying different tech- and time have also been examined. These systems have been
niques and materials can lead to reduction of electricity con- tested and proven to be cost-effective and reliable, and, most
sumption of produce per kg in the PFs by 20-30% (50-80% importantly, they have increased the level of agricultural pro-
theoretically). Altering the photoperiod inside the IUVF has ductivity worldwide. In this context, research groups have fo-
an important effect on their energy demand (Harbick and cused on designing new types of photovoltaic solar panels for
Albright 2016; Avgoustaki 2019; Liu et al., 2019) electricity generation, targeting a more sustainable agricultural
Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review

sector (Mekhilef et al. 2013). In the case of Murayama et al. and Suzuki 2015) showed that optimal hydroponic techniques
(2016), a different type of PF system has been demonstrated in in the root-zone of the plants could develop and control the
which the cultivation is located in an outdoor landscape where root environment regarding the plants’ requirement in humid-
adjustable solar panels on the roof have been installed to ab- ity, temperature and nutrient absorption. The root-zone is im-
sorb the solar radiation and protect the crop beneath. Another portant as it can influence secondary metabolites in multiple
area of the research in photovoltaic panels is the analysis of plant species, specifically the ones that grow under controlled
their performance and the neural modeling in the modern hy- environment. Low temperature in the root-zone of the plants
droponic ways of cultivation (Pérez-Alonso et al. 2012). It can reduce their leaf area, the diameter of the stem and the
should be noted that the photovoltaic solar systems allow the fresh weight both of the root and the shoot zone. The consis-
users to use the electricity to meet the load demand, such as a tency of the environmental conditions in the root-zone is of
water pump, or storage in batteries (some of the systems have vital importance as it allows plants to dissolve the nutrients of
the added advantage of storing water) for later use, reducing the solution. Root-zone cooling system can be adjusted ac-
system costs. cording to each plant selection and hydroponic installation.
One of the most researched areas of renewable energy is Sakamoto & Suzuki (2015), mention that different treatments
that of wind power and how it can benefit IUVF. According to of the root-zone temperature, according to the life stage of
Xydis et al. (2017), a large-scale deployment of urban indoor plants, can increase yield production. The root-zone tempera-
small scale hydroponic units can work towards integrating ture of plants is specially important when plants face low
greater quantities of generated wind power, participating in temperatures asthis results in reduced growth rate of the plants
the market as an authorised electricity supplier. This research as well their photosynthetic rate. According to Graamans et al.
has revealed that hydroponic units can minimize their power (2018), the lighting system of LEDs in the cultivation area
supply needs, allowing the utility not to introduce expensive account for 52% of the total electricity usage in the PFAL
and less clean thermal power plants into the system in order to (conversion of electric power to chemical energy that pro-
cover the peak demand and meet the demand by postponing it motes photosynthetic process of the plants) and the remaining
via various demand response options. 48% is distributed as sensible heat. This heat is extracted by
As stated by Wang et al. (2017), some of the most obvious water evaporation in the hydroponic cooling system and trans-
obstacles that modern solar IUVF chambers face are the poor formed to latent heat.
heating-preserving performance (of solar thermal green-
house), the shadowing effect (of PV greenhouse), and a series 3.3 Digitalization and lighting
of advanced solar utilization technologies to mitigate the ef-
fects of heat loss, shadowing, and poor light condition for Most of the published papers (70 out of 92) studied the poten-
applicable integration. The use of double-glazing and thermal tial of minimizing energy consumption in relation to high-tech
insulation provided by the rooftop farms and the natural ven- solutions. In this context, new ideas and tested protocols have
tilation can reduce additionally the total energy usage (Al- been presented, including devices, automation, monitoring
Kodmany 2018). programs, cultivation techniques, efficient constructions, en-
vironmental controls, software and hardware equipment. In
3.2 Water efficiency particular, the effects of the different parameters in the IUVF
performance as well as the application of new methods to
As stated by Cicekli (2014), the rise of vertical farms is inev- improve their efficiency have been studied. For this part, the
itable, as IUVF systems, among other things, recycle water for research groups have tried to develop more accurate and effi-
irrigation without concern for outdoor environmental condi- cient models that provide better opportunities for predicting
tions, thus improving product quality, sustainability, and effi- energy consumption and demand, promoting energy efficien-
ciency by means of eco-friendly techniques. According to cy and designing novel hybrid energy-saving systems and
Kozai (2016), water consumption in a PFAL is around 2% prototypes (Chen et al. 2014; Ntinas et al. 2014; Ismail and
in comparison with the one of greenhouses. 95% of the water Gryzagoridis 2013; Blasco et al. 2007).
transpired from the leaves of the plantsconcentrates as liquid From the findings, it can be observed that sustainable
water at the air conditioner and more specifically at the methods are needed to control environmental damage and
cooling coil panel; this is resent to the nutrient solution tank reduce energy consumption. Many sustainable solutions
and reused in the crop. The water use efficiency of PFAL can for improving and flourishing vertical farms have been
reach up to 0.95 and the nutrient use efficiency is over 0.90 in suggested. Well-designed PFs use high-efficiency equip-
most cases (Kozai 2016) ment for operations, including heat pumps for cooling
The root-zone temperature of the plants in the hydroponic and heating, variable speed motors on pumps, fans for
cultivation system plays a vital role in plants’ growth and yield moving water and air as well as LED lighting for illumi-
production in a PFAL installation. Recent research (Sakamoto n a t i n g t h e c r o p s . C o m b i n i n g d i ff e r e n t t y p e s o f
 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

Fig. 7 The electrical energy use

of the total equipment in a
cultivation chamber of a PF

technologies to improve quality, yield, and energy efficien- of light energy emitted by lamps to the energy absorbed by the
cy are in the center of the published papers with different plants. In a sole-source lighting mode, LEDs can also be used
proposals and aspects requiring extensive future research. for transplant production as well as for production of rapid-
The improvement of the cultivation procedure and the turning vegetables and small fruit crops (Burr et al. 2015).
careful selection of the cultivars can lead to a massive LEDs provide focused point source light, and can be placed
increase in the total amount of commercial plants close to crops due to low radiant heat emissions. Some studies
(Dieleman & Hemming 2011; Kozai 2013) have more focus on the photosynthesis of plants, i.e., how
One of the most important factors that the majority of LEDs can be used to create the kind of light necessary for
the researchers have studied is the promotion of software photosynthesis and how excessive light might be modified
development for PF design and production management. In by the balance between source and sinks. Ikkonen et al.
particular, the publications from Asia and USA present (2015) state that a short-term daily temperature drop elimi-
various technologies for vegetable breeding, hydroponics, nates the inhibiting effect of continuous light (CL) on the
vertical indoor cultivation structures as well as software photosynthetic performance of tomato plants.
and hardware for environmental control in IUVF (van LED lamps are cost-effective and for different agricul-
Beveren et al. 2015). Dynamic optimization and optimal tural applications, their desired spectrum can be achieved
control techniques leading to a maximised crop yield, by combining two or more types of LEDs (Ronay and
minimised energy consumption, and lower cost demand Dumitru 2015). The LEDs are more energy-efficient than
for the operation and function of the IVF have yet to be the conventional fluorescent bulbs and have higher effi-
developed. Inside the chambers, sensors and controllers are ciency when used in a combination with solar panels.
installed, which constantly monitor the temperature, CO2 Spectral sensitivity may also extend beyond the visible
concentration, nutrient solution, humidity, EC and pH of wavelengths and into the ultraviolet and infrared band-
the substrates, and many other factors. widths with potential effects on growth rates (Benke and
The electrical energy consumption used for artificial light- Tomkins 2017). Another aspect is that crop production can
ing in PFs accounts for almost 60% of the total energy con- be increased by 5-10% compared to conventional bulbs.
sumption. 17% is for the pumps and 10% for refrigerators, Cuce et al. (2016) adds that fluorescenct lamps might pro-
ACs, coolers and chillers (Fig. 7). For every euro spent on vide better results than LEDs depending on the plant. For
energy, 60 cents is composed of electricity consumption for instance, sprouts demonstrate the fastest growth quality
lighting, which is why the majority of the researchers focus under far-red fluorescent lamps.
more on minimizing lighting costs. LEDs have many monochromatic colors, which become
Studies on LEDs as sole light source of IVF displayed the the identity of a specific wavelength beam that is useful in
most common result of the digitalization and technology the leaf photosynthesis process. Cuce et al. (2016) states that
trends. Study protocols have been developed to test plant re- the highest influence in the plant development in the optical
sponses in various photoperiods, light intensities, and wave- spectrum focuses in the blue wavelength (448nm), red (634
lengths to examine how LED lighting influences crops as and 661nm), with a proportion of 80% red and 20% blue light
compared to the fluorescenct lighting (FL) as well as to test and their combination increasing the photosynthetic activity
how LEDs can be used to control the circadian rhythm of of the plants. Shamshiri et al. (2018) note that LEDs are not
plants (Higashi et al. 2015). Indeed, it is possible to improve the only criteria for plant growth; choosing the correct plant-
the growth of plants by using a combination of these LED ing density is vitally important for increasing crop water out-
properties and well-designed reflectors that increase the ratio put and improving the light capture from the LEDs. Moreover,
Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review

the planting density has an effect on the harvest of tomato in CO2 equivalent per kg of tomato vs. 1.7 kg, mainly due to the
hydroponic growing systems and evapotranspiration. reduced packaging and transportation requirements. A
In recent years, publications have followed a new trend in significant percentage of the existing literature has shown
lighting, namely induction lighting technology. As stated by test results from different hardware and technological
Al-Kodmany et al. (2018), this type of lighting can mimic the equipment that can significantly improve energy efficiency,
sunlight’s color spectrum in order to promote the development the cultivation techniques used in the growth area as well as
of fruits and leafy vegetables. Instead of using a lighting fila- the environmental control of the IUVFs. Fuldauer et al. (2018)
ment, the light uses an electromagnet to excite argon gas. For present a method of nutrient recycling by dewatering effluents
this reason, the new induction lighting technology uses less from anaerobic digesters (ADs) and applying the solid and
energy and can last up to 100,000 hours. In addition, it creates liquid fractions of ADs from food waste in the urban environ-
enough heat for growing plants without wasting energy to heat ment as an alternative and innovative way. The results show a
the building, and the light units are calibrated to create an digestate enhancement from a dewatering system (gyratory
‘ideal’ microenvironment by producing high-quality lighting sifter coupled with a vertical hydroponic system) could be
that is similar to daylight. an economically feasible option to recycle nutrients of urban
Heat pumps are widely utilised in IUVF due to their char- small-scale AD plants (with >30 L per day of digestate).
acteristic advantages, which are provided by other technolo- A large number of the publications refer to the different
gies (Cuce et al. 2016). In cold weather or at night (dark) programming models that have been established to evalu-
conditions, heat pumps can be used as a heating device. ate and improve the food production and energy consump-
When the temperature is too high, they provide cooling in tion of PFs in the vegetable production market. The models
the cultivation room. According to Haque et al. (2017), when tested (Janjai et al. 2010) have provided innovative meth-
dark period is absent, stomata (the pores found in the epider- odology, framework, and a case study to analyse food-
mis of leaves) close and carbohydrate levels become constant energy trade-off of IVF production in competitive vegeta-
reflecting a continuous supply and utilization of the photosyn- ble markets. According to Huang (2018), the proposal for
thates. According to temperature variation, stomatal closing future programming models includes simulation of asym-
and opening reinstate the light flow. Under higher temperature metric firm competition in food markets, local food pro-
conditions, the stomata are open and under lower temperature duction, differentiation of energy demand, analysis of mul-
(dark conditions), the stomata are close. Moreover, heat tiple markets and multiple PF production systems, and
pumps can be used as control devices for the relative humidity trade-off of transportation energy and climate-related pro-
inside the cultivation room. In the published papers, heat duction energy.
pumps are considered very beneficial for the control and Several types of controllers have been developed, to im-
maintenance of the temperature constancy inside an IUVF. prove the cultivation techniques in PFs and the environmental
One method of improving energy utilization efficiency and control. An example of such controller is that of Wahby
employing renewable energy sources is to use electricity- (2015), who has presented a pioneering computer model for
driven heat pumps instead of traditional combustion-based controlling the growth and motion of the plants inside a culti-
heating system (Tong et al. 2012). The energy consumption vation room. With this type of automation, a co-dependent
is 25-65% lower in an IUVF with heat pumps as compared to and self-organised system is possible, with closely related
a greenhouse with a conventional fuel heater. Furthermore, symbiotic relationships, where plants support robots, and di-
energy utilization efficiency of heat pumps is 1.3-2.6 times rect plant growth towards the desired areas.
higher than the fossil fuel’s heater, and the CO2 emissions Some of the papers (Siregar et al. 2016; Boulard et al.
can be reduced by 56% to 79% in the cultivation compared 2017) primarily focus on innovative hardware technologies
to that of the conventional one. From a life cycle perspective, that will lead to energy cost minimization through renewable
however, Al-Chalabi (2015) has found that in a recent pilot energy and energy storage. These methods have resulted in
IUVF program in the UK, vertically grown produce has a immediately lower IUVF cultivation costs. The programs
carbon footprint that is much higher than conventionally have been devoted to reduce energy costs through the use of
grown produce, which generated energy from conventional facilities and equipment combined to reduce energy consump-
sources of energy. tion. Various models have been studied in order to design the
IUVF is a growing trend with a broad variety of typologies ideal microclimate conditions of cultivation inside the growth
from high-tech to traditional and from private terraces to pub- cabinet by testing the temperature, CO2, stomata conduc-
lic gardens, which is expected to continue increasing in the tance, and leaf photochemical efficiency (Janka et al. 2016).
future (Pons et al.2015). Sanjuan-Delmás et al. (2018) dem- The approaches have varied from simple models and timer-
onstrate that compared to a conventional greenhouse, a high- based feedback controls to more advanced solutions such as
tech PF has a better environmental performance, showing 50- model-free control strategies (Shamshiri et al. 2018; Zolnier
75% lower impacts in impact categories, such as 0.58 kg of et al. 2004), nonlinear control methods (Shamshiri et al.
 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

2018), adaptive control (Ferentinos et al. 2015) and adaptive been converted into natural gas for electricity generation.
management framework (Huang, L. 2018), robustness (Story Love (2015) has stated that heat recovery provides thermal
and Kacira 2015; Janka, et al. 2016), optimal control (Van heat at a lower price than electric resistance heaters, is more
Straten and Van Henten 2010; van Beveren et al., 2015C; efficient than propane, and improves the cooling performance
Fitz-Rodríguez et al. 2010), energy balance models of the refrigeration equipment.
(Katsuyuki et al. 2018), computer simulators (Pérez et al. Some of the publications have focused on the techno-
2014), and model-based predictive control (Ha et al. 2015; economical values of PFs. More specifically, Liaros et al.
Zhang et al. 2015; Mahadi et al. 2017). Shamshiri (2018) (2016) note that cultivations with low daylight integral and
has pointed out that a major disadvantage of utilizing ad- high plant density crops are preferred in the case of PFs.
vanced control methods in a controlled agricultural environ- Despite its high daylight integral, however, sweet basil has
ment is the difficulty of developing a dynamic model to sim- been found to be a viable cultivation option. As modeled by
ulate the behavior of all the variables. Ultimately, the goal of Benisa et al. (2017), plants produced in soilless cultivation on
any of these control systems is to minimize the input cost per rooftops have led to a positive net present value in terms of
production unit and increase return by achieving quality and short food supply chains, where the yield is sold directly to the
high-yield production. final consumer, providing a larger profitability margin to the
producer. The study has showed that where higher energy
3.4 Cost demand requirements and higher investment costs over conventional
horticulture are identified as significant constraints on the
Many researchers have assessed urban agriculture from the comprehensive implementation of conditioned PFs, crop pro-
aspects of profitability in various economic circumstances ductivity has played a crucial role in achieving environmental
(Badami and Ramankutty 2015; Love et al. 2015, Shamshiri and economic viability of such facilities.
et al. 2018). One of the most important features of PFs is the In a study by Namkung (2017), consumers’ willingness to
lack of solar energy, which is free. This can cause problems pay more money for green practices in restaurants was inves-
with the financial feasibility of these systems as the produc- tigated. Over the past few years, many restaurants in the US,
tivity of their resources and/or the value of additional facilities Japan, and Australia have adopted green practices, following
must be in balance with this absence (Shamshiri et al. 2018). specific rules in order to be characterised as ‘green’ restau-
Due to the relatively higher economic investment required for rants. The results of this study revealed that more than two-
PFs, they are managed with resource efficiency and produc- thirds of the restaurant customers (68.3%) are willing to pay
tion predictability to attain marketable crops. extra money for green restaurant practices. 26% of the re-
Operational cost is one of the main problems in IUVF. search respondents showed volition to pay up to 10% extra
Conventional greenhouses can cost around 11.39 EUR/m2 cost in order to dine in a green restaurant. Eco-companies
(Becerril and de los Rios 2016), and the production supplies, utilize different renewable energy sources to reduce energy
which include fertilizers, pesticides, etc., amount to almost 40% costs and CO2 emissions. According to Demicco et al.
of the total costs (the productivity cost of a conventional green- (2014) and Kozai (2016), there are already some excellent
house is 6 kg/m2). On the contrary, as pointed out by Kozai examples of applied IUVFs in eco-restaurants that use differ-
(2016), the annual productivity per m2 (land area) of an existing ent approaches to modern cultivation with renewable energy
PF is about 3,000 lettuce heads/m2/year (80-100 g fresh weight supply. Organic food is served in eco- restaurants, and any
per head) compared to open fields [32 (= 16*2 harvests) heads/ waste is collected, classified, and recycled. Waste oils are de-
m2/year]. In other words, the productivity of PFs is about 100 livered to biodiesel SMEs, and residual waste is sent to
times more compared to open-field cultivations and about 15 recycling plants for additional chemical treatments,
times that of the greenhouse (200 heads/m2/year). converting the waste into composite materials. There are
Hence, although results vary depending on multiple fac- many examples of applied ideas of IUVF, and the need for
tors, the initial costs per unit production capacity of a well- new, efficient technologies for the exploitation of renewable
established PF is approximately the same as with a high-tech forms of energy is of vital importance.
greenhouse (with heaters, ventilators, thermal screens, and
other equipment). According to Mendez Perez (2014), culti-
vation of crops such as corn and wheat is not suitable in PFs. 4 Conclusions
This has been concluded by comparing and calculating the
economic feasibility of PFs with conventional crop production PFs are a new upcoming and very promising method of cultiva-
as these type of crops require larger space that makes the tion. Many successful companies and households around the
financial plan unsustainable. In the same research it was stated world are beginning to use this technology to grow their own
that energy consumption costs of PFs will depend on the local fresh vegetables in an ecological way and with as little CO2
utility’s reliance on coal and how much of its capacity has emissions as possible. The ‘green’ agriculture is a sustainable
Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review

way of producing leafy vegetables, fruits, and herbs, and PFs are hydroponic vs. conventional agricultural methods. International journal
of environmental research and public health, 12(6), 6879–6891.
one of the most beneficial options to meet the rising demand for
Barthel, S., & Isendahl, C. (2013). Urban gardens, agriculture, and water
organic and locally grown food. However, according to this lit- management: Sources of resilience for long-term food security in
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 Avgoustaki D.D., Xydis G.

Design and pilot study. Applied Energy; Vol., 156, 213–222. https:// George Xydis had the opportuni-
doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.07.036. ty to work in the wind sector to-
Zolnier, S., Lyra, G. B., & Gates, R. S. (2004). Evapotranspiration esti- gether with developers, utilities,
mates for greenhouse lettuce using an intermitted nutrient film tech- constructors, universities, and re-
nique. Structures & Environment Division of ASAE, 47(1), 271–282. search institutes. He holds a PhD
in Engineering from National
Technical University of Athens,
and a degree in Mechanical
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki is a Engineering from Aristotle
PhD fellow at Aarhus University. University of Thessaloniki. He
The title of her PhD is “Growth worked as a Wind Projects
perspectives of small scale hydro- Development Coordinator at
ponic systems in cities: The sus- Iberdrola Renewables, as a Wind
tainable energy- based business Project Developer at Vector
approach”. She is an Agriculture Hellenic Windfarms S.A., and as
Engineer and received her a Researcher (eq. Assistant Professor level) in the Center for Electric
Bachelor and Master degrees Power and Energy, Department of Electrical Engineering at Technical
from the University of Thessaly, University of Denmark. He used to collaborate with the Hellenic Open
at the Department of University (Adjunct Tutor), the International Hellenic University
“Agricultural Crop Production (Adjunct Lecturer (PD 407/80)), the Green Fund, other institutes and
and Rural Environment”. At her universities and with various SMEs in the fields of Wind Resource
Bachelor studies, she focused on Assessment, Energy Resources Optimization, Exergy Analysis, Spatial
energetic plants and their eco- Planning, and Energy Demand. George is now an Associate Professor at
nomic viability and at her Master level she focused on remote sensing the Department of Business Development and Technology, Aarhus
control for stress detection in plants of closed growth chambers. She had University and serves as an Associate Editor in Frontiers in Energy
the chance to work as an agronomist at GAIA PERIVALLON LTD, a Systems & Policy and in Energy & Environment, SAGE Publishers.
green construction company in Athens, Greece. Last year, she won a
scholarship for EIT Global Food Venture Program for new entrepreneurs,
which are developing new projects for food sustainability and innovation.

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