Nordic Harvest launches the largest vertical farm in Denmark

Nordic Harvest is positioning itself to become one of the largest vertical farms in Europe. With an investment of $9,1 million from various investors, including Vækstfonden, and financing from the Danish Green Investment Fund, Nordic Harvest is taking a step towards implementing the largest vertical farm.

Nordic Harvest is launching a 14-story vertical farm in Taastrup near Copenhagen Markets, the largest wholesale food market in Northern Europe. This farm will be home to plants on shelves up to 14 stories high, and the ambition is to supply locally grown salads and herbs with a minimum distance from harvest to point of sale to consumers.

Anders Riemann, founder and CEO of Nordic Harvest, shares his vision: "The world is facing great challenges in terms of sustainability and population growth, and so we need to rethink the way we produce our food. Vertical farms can create a more sustainable food system with local production that at the same time delivers higher quality and better taste than conventionally grown food."

Nordic Harvest plans to harvest continuously 15 times a year, and over the next two years, the production will expand to over 7,000 square meters and 14 floors in height, with the capacity to supply 1,000 tons of food annually.

This vertical farm represents a new era for Danish agriculture. With the support of a board of directors and a network of partners and financial investors, including Vækstfonden and the Danish Green Investment Fund, Nordic Harvest is poised to take on a leadership role in food production.

New technologies play a key role in Nordic Harvest's approach to producing high quality food while reducing the pressure on land resources. Vertical cultivation uses a fraction of the land and water resources that traditional production methods require.

In addition, the Danish corporation Vækstfonden and the Danish Green Investment Fund have joined Nordic Harvest in financing. According to Rolf Kjærgaard, CEO of Vækstfonden, these investments should help Denmark remain a leader in the production of quality food.

"In Denmark, we grow world-class food and we are known for our high quality. But to create sustainable food, we need to continue to develop and innovate. Nordic Harvest is a great example of this, and we are therefore pleased that we are able to follow the Nordic Harvest project both through investment and a loan from the Danish Green Investment Fund," says Rolf Kjærgaard.

Most of the first year's harvest from Nordic Harvest has already been pre-sold to cafes and hotels. The rest of the products are planned to be sold through retail.

The farm has violet LED lighting, which contributes to faster growth cycles and potentially higher yields. Vertical farming has a lower environmental impact by using less land and water than traditional methods. The premises are heated with renewable energy, which significantly reduces CO2 emissions.

Nordic Harvest

Nordic Harvest is a food producer. The company uses a vertical growing technology optimized to maximize the yield on a minimum area with the least possible impact on the environment. Nordic Harvest delivers locally grown products that have more flavor and a better shelf life than conventionally grown products. The production does not use genetic modification, pesticides or other toxic chemicals. More information is available at nordicharvest.com.

Vækstfonden and the Danish Green Investment Fund

Vækstfonden is the government's financial fund that works to strengthen Danish businesses' access to risk capital so that they can innovate, grow and create jobs. In close partnerships with banks and private investors from Denmark and abroad, Vækstfonden finances enterprises in all sectors of the national economy. Since 1992, Vækstfonden has jointly invested in more than 7,900 companies with a total value of more than $24.9 billion. Vækstfonden is also the secretariat of the Danish Green Investment Fund, which aims to co-finance investments that contribute to the green transformation of Danish society. More information can be found at vf.dk and gronfond.dk.