World’s Deepest Vertical Farm Takes Root Beneath Yorkshire

A pioneering project is investigating whether crops can be grown commercially more than a kilometre beneath the North Yorkshire countryside.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have partnered with food producer Farm Urban to establish what is described as the world’s deepest vertical farm, located 1.1km underground in a working polyhalite and salt mine near Whitby.

The 12-month study is taking place at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Boulby Underground Laboratory. It will gather real-world evidence to determine whether underground farming can provide a practical and profitable method of food production.

Researchers hope the mine’s consistently stable temperature and existing lighting and ventilation infrastructure could help to reduce the high energy costs commonly associated with conventional vertical farming.

Although food has previously been grown underground, the University of Sheffield said this is the first time crops have been tested at such an extreme depth.

Jacob Nickles, co-lead of the Institute for Sustainable Food’s Controlled Environment Agriculture group at the university, said the study would build a robust model based on validated, practical data.

He acknowledged that the unusual environment could present challenges, including ambient salt and heat generated by mining operations, but said the research would establish whether crops can be grown successfully under these conditions.

“If successful, we may be able to make use of the thousands of disused mine sites that exist across the UK,” he said.

“Many of these sites are located in economically deprived areas. Repurposing them could create skilled jobs, improving access to fresh produce, and supporting local communities while breathing new life into heritage sites.”

Underground farms could also offer protection from extreme weather, seasonal variation and changing environmental conditions. By moving production beneath the surface, the approach would avoid competition for land while creating another potential route for urban and locally based food production.

Science Minister Lord Vallance said growing fresh food while using less energy and land, and reducing dependence on changeable British weather, could strengthen UK food security while helping to protect the environment.

The project is supported through a UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and STFC Facility Access Funding for bioscience partnerships award.

Professor Sean Paling, director of the Boulby Underground Laboratory, said the facility already hosts research requiring its deep subterranean environment, including studies searching for dark matter and investigating neutrinos.

“Hosting Farm Urban’s vertical farm study is a natural extension of our science portfolio and that’s using our unique environment to answer questions that can’t easily be answered anywhere else,” he said.

“If this can work here, it opens real possibilities for what disused mines across the UK could become for the public.”

Source: University of Sheffield