Hot and dry growing conditions have significantly reduced hop production. Indoors, hops are grown using LED lights and require considerably less water than outdoors.
A Spanish start-up company is exploring a new way to grow hops indoors to tackle the threat of climate change.
The company grows vines in warehouses outside Madrid using LED lights and renewable energy hydroponic systems.
Hops, which thrive in mild temperatures, are widely grown in countries such as Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as in the north-western United States. However, global warming has reduced both the yield and the quality of hops.
According to Reuters, for example, hop production in Germany fell by more than a fifth last year, and in the Czech Republic it fell by 40 percent compared to the previous year due to hot and dry growing conditions.
According to the news agency Reuters, the start-up company Ekonoke’s aquaculture system uses almost 95 percent less water than traditional outdoor farming.
No sunlight and no pesticides
The company’s 11-person team consists of agronomists, chemists and biotechnologists who research the best combination of light, water and fertilizers for each variety.
Sensors attached to hop leaves accurately measure humidity and the amount of carbon dioxide.
Pesticides are not needed in indoor cultivation due to strict hygiene measures.
The company has already produced a small batch of IPA beer and next they plan to expand production.
According to Sagrario, in the future, indoor cultivations could work in connection with breweries, in which case they could utilize the carbon dioxide released during fermentation and the filtered water left over from beer production.
Ekonoke’s goal is to establish indoor farms all over the world.
The biggest challenge of indoor cultivation is its high energy costs.