https://sifted.eu/articles/infarm-raised-500m-and-disappeared
Once a hot Berlin-based startup, Infarm struggled to turn a profit, causing it to declare insolvency in its major European markets in 2023
It was stupid for them to think that they could get the ridiculous profit margins that these firms where pitching them, but its not a stupid idea. As with any valid agricultural operation Gov is needed. USDA just allowed for crop insurance for vertical farming so there is hope for support on that front. I am working on developing a cheaper way to manufacture tower systems and for them to be recycled. I am born and raised in the American Southwest and we are already experiencing water shortages so I suspect local/state gov support is going to be put into place to subsidize power to vertical farming to make it more viable for farmers. We have lots of sun/wind out here but we don't have lots of water.
with renewables, you could run your own desalination station: and yea, vertical farming is nice but very cheap electricity is required for it to be reliable (even at 50$ per Mwh of solar, VF is yet to be profitable.
electricity should cost a fraction of that for the former to be worthwhile) (electricity would be needed to desalinate water, control the climate within the farm, and provide lighting for crops). People should also give up crypto mining and spare the grid enough energy to dedicate for crop farming. Also bitcoin (in particular) is an ecological disaster.