ADAPT

Solutions developed

The greenhouses’ energy needs for cooling, heating, and conversion of water vapor are being covered by a vertical closed-loop geothermal system which is built next to the greenhouses, exploiting the available shallow geothermal energy field. This system offers significant advantages over other forms of energy as it is a renewable energy source that does not burden the environment with additional pollutants, reducing carbon emissions footprint. Using common energy production methods only as an additional input, when needed, an energy source that in the future could be also provided by a renewable energy source like wind, photovoltaic panels, etc., gives the greenhouse a clean energy solution and an environmentally friendly label. The credibility of this system is much greater than other systems because no combustion, in the form of chemical energy, takes place which in most cases produces residues and blocks combustion sites requiring continuous cleaning and repairs.

Main results

The overall project objective is to show the adjustment of agricultural production to climate change and limited water supply. In particular, it aims to reduce the water used in agricultural production by introducing a method of recycling water through a closed, fully-automated hydroponic greenhouse system while at the same time reducing the fossil fuel energy demands by using renewable geothermal energy sources.