Former semiconductor factory is now the world’s largest indoor farm, producing 10K heads of lettuce per day.

This Japanese semiconductor factory converted to Indoor Farm uses LED lights and hydroponics to produce lettuce. Farm is lit by LEDs, and the 25,000 square feet operation is producing 10,000 heads of lettuce per day. Per day. Every day.

Because of the high-tech methods used by this indoor farm, crops can be grown 2 ½ times faster than outdoors, with just 1% of the water, and a loss rate of just 10% of the produce (which can be as much as 30-50% of the plant biomass in conventional operations)

In video, plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura is showing how a former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory, using special LED fixtures and hydroponics converted to an indoor farm growing massive amounts of food in an incredibly space- and water-efficient manner.

https://youtu.be/985rJxlWuWk?list=PLK2LsIp0FxT9uCrMJTzo7zYJiekrQ5gNo

These LED fixtures are ‘tuned’ to emit the optimal wavelengths of light for growth. LED lights were designed to be slim enough that they could fit inside the closely spaced plant racks, while also standing up in the high humidity environment, allowing for uniform lighting to all of the plants. 

The farm also uses technology to tightly control the humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, and the irrigation in the growing stacks, which is another key to their success in drastically reducing the water required to grow the plants, while also supporting maximum growth rates.

When coupled with the advanced LED lighting, the operation can make the most of both day and night cycles, producing the optimal conditions for indoor food production. 

To take Green Agricultural Industrialization forward, Mirai and GE are said to be working on building more plant factories in places such as Hong Kong and Russia, about which Shimamura says “Finally, we are about to start the real agricultural industrialization,” which will feed 10 billion people.