Innovate UK Feasibility Study
VFast Feasibility Study
The VFAST (Vertical Farming And Storage Technology) project aims to create a new type of infrastructural hub at the food-energy-water nexus. By focusing on the link between food and energy, VFAST accelerates decarbonisation and environmental goals through cooperative, interdependent systems.
This innovative project co-locates pumped hydroelectric energy storage with controlled environment agriculture, potentially unlocking thousands of sites. The stored water regulates renewable energy intermittency, supporting weather-independent farms that grow energy-intensive crops. The resulting food will feed local supply chains year-round while preventing ecosystem conversion, reducing emissions, and avoiding agricultural chemicals' impact.
Over a two-year feasibility study, IGS, RheEnergise, the James Hutton Institute, and UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT) will explore:
Cultivating novel crops in vertical farms and assessing their nutritive value
Sizing, siting, and integrating RheEnergise’s
High-Density Hydro® storage
Evaluating environmental and economic sustainability
Mapping the commercial landscape
from farm to plate
This comprehensive feasibility study, and any subsequent demonstrator projects, will advance controlled environment agriculture's role in a sustainable, decarbonised food system. The consortium aims to deliver sustainable, decarbonised food and energy directly to local communities.