French engineering firm AKKA Technologies is collaborating with French vertical farming start-up Futura Gaïa to accelerate the design and development of indoor vertical farms combining agronomy precision and advanced technology for agricultural.

Since the end of 2019 AKKA has leveraged its cross-sectorial expertise in the field of automotive and aeronautics to support Futura Gaïa in the robotisation of the cultivation process. One example is the development of a tailored automated guided vehicle (AGV) to move the systems between the production racks and the harvesting area. The AGV helps extract and insert containers into GiGrow rotating machine racks with a robotic arm, at a height of six metres and a total payload of over 800 kilograms.

More recently, AKKA contributed to the successful set-up of the first prototype farm, also known as pilot pre-industrialisation farm, in February 2021 in Tarascon where the first twelve growth systems have been deployed. By July 2021, the farm will operate 48 growth systems. The creation of this first prototype farm validates the ability of future large-scale production farms to commit to quality, prices and volumes.

Vertical farming aims to compensate for the loss of surface area due to continued population growth and expansion of cities, by stacking cylinders to increase the area produced in a controlled environment.

Jean-Franck Ricci, AKKA’s Group Managing Director in charge of business development and sales, said: “We are extremely pleased to work alongside Futura Gaïa on these innovative vertical agricultural solutions. For more than 18 months our expertise in robotics and automatics in the aeronautics and automotive field have been instrumental in the set-up technical solutions. This project demonstrates AKKA’s ability to leverage cross-sectorial knowledge and expertise and to propose transversal solutions, injecting an innovational drive to any business.”

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Futura Gaïa to partner with a worldwide leader like AKKA. The last 18th months were crucial for us with the design and setup of our first farm. Thanks to AKKA robotic expertise we had design, select and start the robotisation in less than a year with 3 lock-downs. Now, we have our first robot active and totally autonomous in our farm in the south of France.” said Pascal Thomas, President and CEO of Futura Gaïa Technologies.