In France, Agricool received €4 million to move their prototype Cooltainer into industrial production and deploy Cooltainers across metropolitan Paris. The results of two years of research and development into growing strawberries in re-purposed shipping containers convinced a group led by venture fund Daphni to provide the funding to have locally grown, pesticide-free strawberries in urban neighborhoods year-round.
Inside a Cooltainer, growing conditions are optimized to achieve productivity as high as 120 times that of the same space in fields; while using 90 percent less water. Cooltainers can be placed almost anywhere in cities and towns and workers require no previous farming experience.
The team built three prototypes that progressively optimized controlled environment agriculture variables including substrate, irrigation methods, LED spectrum and intensity, planting densities, air/CO2, hygrometry and biological protection for cultures. With commercialization largely complete, Agricool is preparing to roll out seventy-five Cooltainers around metropolitan Paris, beginning in 2017.