New technologies in support of urban agriculture

Cooltainer dans le quartier de Bercy à Paris © Agricool

Guillaume Fourdinier, Co-founder and CEO, Agricool

Since 2015, Agricool has been developing container farm models designed for growing strawberries in the heart of the city. Following several years’ research and development, this project, launched by two farmers’sons, uses a closed-loop aeroponic system, low-energy LED bulbs and software to provide optimal conditions for strawberries to grow.

The yields obtained are 60 times greater compared with traditional strawberry-growing methods, and the strawberries have a 20–30% higher sugar and vitamin content, while the carbon footprint is reduced. To date, the Agricool model has relied on a few “cooltivators” trained in-house, but the aim is to harness new technologies to make this production method available to as many people as possible.