Fertilecity
| University | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
|---|---|
| Centre/department/research group | Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) Sostenipra research group |
| Research title | Fertilecity |
| Scientific area | Engineering |
| Related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) | Goal 2. Zero hunger:End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 7. Affordable and clean energy. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all Goal 6. Clean water and sanitation: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all Goal 11. Sustainable cities and communities: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable Goal 12. Responsible consumption and production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns |
| Target(s) to which it contributes | 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity 7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support 11.b By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels 12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources |
| Further information | http://fertilecity.com/ |
The goal of the Fertilecity project is intensive and sustainable food production in cities. This is achieved through integration of a high efficiency ICTA-ICP (LEED Gold certified) rooftop greenhouse on buildings, designed from a circular economy focus. From an environmental, social and financial point of view, the project has analysed the strengths and weaknesses of rooftop greenhouses though a combination of different methodologies, including Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment (MIVES) and programmes for modelling building energy (TAS). The application of these methodologies has required a multidisciplinary team made up of environmentalists, chemists, agronomic engineers, chemical engineers, civil engineers, industrial engineers, architects, experts in materials and industrial designers.
The chosen greenhouse (LAU-ICTA) for implementation on a rooftop is located at Building Z, ICTA-ICP, on the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona campus. The roof is made of polycarbonate, with 45º slopes to collect condensation and improve natural ventilation. The greenhouse is four useful metres high. The greenhouse infrastructure mainly consists of steel (structural) and polycarbonate and polyethylene (façade/casing) elements, and includes thermal panels to shade the crops and optimise energy consumption. The LAU-ICTA consists of two modules (LAU1 and LAU2) measuring 125 m2 each (80 m2 useful) that are integrated into the rooftop of the building, the aim being to produce vegetables using soil-less production techniques without any outside source of energy (not even for controlling air and heat). More than 2,000 kg of tomatoes have been produced in two years on a surface area of 80 m2. 80% of the water used on the crops (tomatoes, lettuce and beans) has come from collected rainwater. The residual heat of the building has been used, meaning that there was no need for any external energy either for heating or cooling.
In 2014, the FertileCity and (CTM2013-47067-C2-1-R) coordinated project began to research a new vegetable production system using multidisciplinary instruments (LCA, LCCA, energy efficiency and MIVES), as well as methods to analyse agronomic behaviour and its feasibility. The rooftop greenhouses are currently at the initial stage of research and implantation. The goal of the FertileCity II (CTM2016-75772-C3-1/2/3-R AEI/FEDER, UE), 2017-2019, project is to further research and potentiate urban agriculture using integrated rooftop greenhouses, thereby providing the information and instruments to make them possible.
