Newark, N.J.-based AeroFarms, a Certified B Corporation and indoor vertical greens grower, has started building AeroFarms AgX Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary, in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates.
AeroFarms AgX is should be open and running in the first quarter of 2022, according to a news release.
In partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, AeroFarms AgX’s goal is to advance sustainable controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming and help address broader global agriculture supply chain issues.
In 2020, the investment office agreed to provide $150 million in incentives to bring global agtech pioneers to Abu Dhabi, including its partnership with AeroFarms to build a vertical farming facility dedicated to developing next-generation agriculture in arid and desert climates.
The research at AeroFarms AgX is expected to enable new business lines, technologies and growth of the AeroFarms platform, while serving as a hub for regional expansion.
“This important milestone for AeroFarms AgX is another step in the realization of Abu Dhabi’s mission to ‘turn the desert green,’” Tariq Bin Hendi, general director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, said in the release. “AeroFarms AgX will add to the growing capabilities of Abu Dhabi’s agriculture ecosystem while benefiting from the emirate’s plentiful land, natural heat, competitive energy prices, access to research universities and skilled talent.”
At 54,000 square feet, AeroFarms AgX will employ a projected 60 engineers, horticulturists and scientists and will have laboratories for organoleptic research and precision phenotyping, phytochemical analysis, advanced speed breeding, as well as next-generation machine vision, machine learning, robotics and automation.
AeroFarms AgX will work with local universities on research projects to tackle problems of agriculture within desert and arid climates.
“This is an important development for AeroFarms as we expand globally and leverage our R&D and growing expertise,” AeroFarms cofounder and CEO David Rosenberg said in the release. Researchers will work in plant science, vertical farming and automation, accelerating innovation cycles and commercializing products.
“Our vision has always been to leverage our expertise in plant biology and build on our successful history of collaborating with government, universities, industry and major international companies,” Rosenberg said. “We are pleased to take this step forward and proud to be a catalyst for helping to establish the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as a global hub for AgTech innovation.”
Founded in 2004, AeroFarms has grown more than 550 varieties and developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help solve agriculture supply chain needs.
On March 26, AeroFarms agreed to combine businesses with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SV). Upon the closing of the business combination, AeroFarms will become publicly traded on NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol, “ARFM.”
