London-based technology start-up, Vertical Future, has opened its first vertical farm in Deptford, one of many planned farms under the name of MiniCrops, its agriculture technology initiative.
MiniCrops is part of a wider group of healthy city initiatives which aim to improve the health of Londoners, reduce the city’s urban footprint, combat poor air quality within the inner city and improve public understanding of health and environmental risk factors.
The company was established in early 2017 following a six figure funding package from HSBC. The funding enabled Vertical Future to acquire the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technologies needed to establish its first fully functional MiniCrops farm.
The MiniCrops Deptford site is the first from the company and is housed in a previously disused warehouse, part of The Artworks’ new Creekside development. It will supply sustainably grown, year-round produce to the local community and businesses, reducing food miles and providing local jobs.
The farm will also host regular educational talks about sustainable food for local schools and at risk groups from Lewisham and its surrounding boroughs, as well as providing co-working space for those interested in agriculture technology.
Deptford’s MiniCrops site is just the beginning for Vertical Future, as the technology start-up plans to roll out up to nine more vertical farms across London in the next three years.
The business also recently completed the first version of its mobile health application, the focal point of its Digital Health initiative. The App uses machine learning to link users with health and social opportunities across the capital, provided by a network of delivery partners.
Vertical Future’s final initiative is an air pollution device. The business recently brought a senior mechanical engineer into the team to accelerate the development process.
Founders of Vertical Future, Jamie and Marie-Alexandrine Burrows, said, “We want to make cities a better place for our children, and our urban initiatives are long-term responses to the ongoing issues of urbanisation.
'All signs following our launch have been positive and launching MiniCrops is our first real milestone as a new business. We want to promote fast but sustainable growth that will make a real impact on our local communities around each site.”
Lucy Wynn, HSBC’s Area Director for South London, said, “We are delighted to be able to support Vertical Future with these exciting first steps into making our cities a healthier place to live. We are passionate about projects that benefit the local community and with our funding Jamie and Marie have been able to turn their ideas into a reality.”
MiniCrops will be holding a public open day on 22 July to officially launch its Deptford site and to discuss ideas for community working across South-east London.
