"We saw the potential of waste heat in creating a sustainable agricultural environment. By utilizing this excess heat, we create the optimal conditions for plant growth within our greenhouses, while simultaneously contributing to the repurposing of a waste product" (Toby Wright, director of Tom d’Aqui)
At Tom d’Aqui, France, tomatoes are produced in a healthy and sustainable way using sustainable energy sources and without the use of pesticides. Upon expansion of their successful greenhouse facility, a new energy source was needed for their growing heat demand.
A solution was found in creating synergies between the high-tech greenhouses of Tom d’Aqui and the nearby municipal waste disposal facility. Within this facility, all recyclable materials are separated from household waste. What is left over is used as fuel for electricity generation in a waste-to-energy plant that supplies electricity to the regional grid. As a byproduct, up to 7.5 MW of heat is generated in the process. This ‘waste’heat is used to create the perfect growing conditions inside the greenhouse all year-round.
With a total of over 25 hectares of high-tech Van der Hoeven greenhouses on multiple sites, Tom d’Aqui has a long history with the use of sustainable energy sources. From generating electricity on-site with solar panels, the use of stumps and roots from the local forestry industry to their collaboration with geothermal energy provider vermillion that was awarded with the Circular Economy Award for Industrial and Regional Ecology.
Recovered Resource: Energy (Heat)
Location: France
Size: 25 ha
Crops: Tomatoes
