Geothermal Food Systems

Photo credit: Pexels

Geothermal Food Systems is a technology package capable of providing a low-carbon ‘full inputs’ growing environment for primary food production in an indoor growing environment/glasshouses.

The Concept

The Geothermal Food Systems (GFS) project uses geothermal resources to provide heat, electricity and carbon dioxide for glasshouses, in an integrated technology that secures the supply of key resources to New Zealand’s horticulture sector.

A key barrier for decarbonisation of glasshouse operators is that the natural gas used for heating is also used as a supply of carbon dioxide (for supplementing photosynthesis, improving growth rates and yields). Replacement of natural gas for a low-carbon alternative (e.g. ground-source heat pumps), would mean the loss of a convenient CO2 supplementation source.

The GFS concept is comprised of three main components:

  1. Heat: A geothermally-heated, semi-closed glasshouse or vertical farm,
  2. CO2: Direct Air Capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide, drawing CO2 from the air, to replace fossil-derived CO2.
  3. Electricity: Modular power generation using geothermal heat, producing independent electricity for use in lighting and other operations – a pathway to security of renewable energy supply.

Whilst the above technologies already exist in the commercial/near commercial space, uncertainty remains on how the systems can best operate together, i.e., the interconnectivity and relationship between the technologies coupled with geothermal energy.

A geothermally heated greenhouse featuring green vegetables being grown
Photo credit: Pixabay

If this system can be optimised for deployment around New Zealand, there is a potential offering to decarbonise the horticulture sector and reduce barriers to large scale investment in commercial production facilities.

Photo credit: Pexels
An array of tomatoes growing in a geothermal greenhouse

Project Plan

Workstream 1: Feasibility

Objective: Test assumptions and fill knowledge gaps to determine the feasibility of continuing to a demonstration (pre-commercial) installation. Activities:

  • Identify and form strategic project partnerships with technology suppliers and the horticulture industry.
  • Develop a horticulture roadmap, including partnering arrangements, market insights and preferred crops.
  • Establish a geothermal fluid supply plan based on temperature, pressure and geothermal reservoir limitations.

Workstream 2: Concept Design

Objective: Form an integrated concept design of the Geothermal Food System, including high level engineering calculations. Activities:

  • Investigate the operation and limitations of equipment components and their interactions.
  • Develop concept designs for DAC, modular power and the greenhouse.
  • Form an integrated concept design, to inform a future detailed design for the demonstration installation.

The next stage will be ‘Demonstration’ scale Geothermal Food System project, planned to be pre-commercial, targeted at proving, packaging, and optimising the technology offering while gathering data to inform a larger scale investment and wider deployment.

Partnerships

  • Lead Organisation: Tauhara North No2. Trust
    Co-Funder: Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) - SFFF Grant
    Project Manager: Upflow

Partner with us

We are looking for horticulture partners provide insights into glasshouse design and operation, product needs, decarbonisation demands, and market specific processes.

Contact us to discuss potential alignment and interest.

Growing bananas in a geothermally heated glasshouse in Iceland. Source: Alistair Lockyer.’
Growing bananas in a geothermally heated glasshouse in Iceland. Source: Alistair Lockyer.

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