Food for thought

A food crisis is looming. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach nine billion, straining our ability to provide for basic needs. With demand for food on the rise and climate change affecting crops across the planet, scientists are posing the question of where we will be able to find enough food to feed the world and how we can do it without further damaging the planet.

Danish entrepreneur Rasmus Bjerngaard has a few ideas. In 2016, he co-founded NextFood, a fully automatic aeroponic growth system that is soil-free. It is a scalable technology that makes all the benefits of vertical farming—high quality crops grown sustainably and without pesticides—available and affordable to anyone, with no expertise required.

So, how does it work? Plants are cultivated within a shelving system that can be delivered flat-pack. The conditions within the shelves are carefully controlled. “We control the entire environment around the plant. We control the light: the wavelength, the intensity, when it is on and off, all depending on where we are in the growth cycle,” explained Bjerngaard. “We control the fertigation: which fertiliser is given (there are 16 different types), the PH and quantity. We also control the humidity, temperature and a bunch of other parameters to create the optimum conditions for the plant.”

This takes place within an aeroponic growth system—the process of growing plants in an air environment without soil. “Plants don’t need soil,” Bjerngaard explained further. “Soil is a holding medium. It holds nutrients, water and the plant. We can provide all those without soil.” Each plant grows from an individual pod and the roots hang freely inside a box. “It’s dark in there, and we spray a fine mist over the roots. The water droplets are 30 to 80 micrometres, which is just the right size to get straight into the plant roots,” Bjerngaard described. “This methodology saves more than 95 percent of water, uses very little fertiliser and has zero pollutive run-off.”

The whole process is controlled via computer technology. “It means that you can open up the app and say ‘I need a kilo of basil in four weeks’, and you don’t need to do anything else.” The app will let you know if it needs your help—refilling water, placing the seedpods—and when it is time to harvest. And it doesn’t stop there. The growing box is fitted with sensors that feed real-time data back to a central cloud. Using artificial intelligence, this mass of data is used to continually improve results by refining the ‘grow recipe’ for each plant.

A certain amount of Bjerngaard’s affinity for plants comes from his upbringing. “I’m from the countryside north of Copenhagen,” he said. “I grew up on a farm, so I have always been building things and working outside.” Bjerngaard went on to study engineering and later, psychology, then completed an MBA at the London Business School.

His experience in the working world is equally diverse. “Originally, I trained as an engineer and worked as a researcher in medical ultrasound. I also spent some time working with Doctors Without Borders in a war zone in northern Uganda. There, I ran a children’s centre for kids that were at risk of being abducted by rebel forces.” He then entered the tech world: “I had founding and leading roles in several startups in Silicon Valley and Europe before beginning to invest in others,” he summarised.

After spending much of the last decade working as a venture capitalist—investing in technology, most recently as a partner in one of the main Nordic funds—Bjerngaard was itching to get back to building. Working in business, he found much of his time was spent focusing on short-term goals, and he wanted to take on a project that felt more meaningful. “I wanted to spend the next part of my life doing something that was important,” he recalled. “I have spent some time thinking, and what makes sense for me is to make a difference for other humans and make their lives better.” 

Finding a project with the potential to achieve this goal required some contemplation. “I left the fund and took a few steps back to explore. I went back to Africa and got involved in many different kinds of projects,” explained Bjerngaard. He concluded that the food technology industry was where he could make a difference. “It was already an interest of mine. But also, I could see that this was something we could bring to the market straight away.” He founded NextFood with friend and colleague Hannes Lindal, and in less than a year, the grow system was for sale.

Based in Barcelona and Copenhagen, current clients mainly come from the culinary and plant research sectors, including a hotel that plans to install the system as an aesthetic, as well as practical feature in its restaurant. “Both places are amazing cities with world-class food scenes,” said Bjerngaard. “There is also a great startup spirit here, and that matters.”

The technology is still in its infancy, but is rapidly developing. Going forward, Bjerngaard strives to continue building the business, “proving that we can make food in a totally new way that is more nutritious, pesticide-free and tastes better. These are the three main things that are important to our customers.” The system can simulate any environmental condition, making it possible to grow species from anywhere in the world, and even modify flavour. “It’s a little bit like DJing: as you listen, you can change the volume, modify the pitch and manipulate all the variables to get the perfect sound. A friend came up with this analogy, and I think it is great because it is a creative process—it’s not just scientific,” he laughed.

In his search for meaning, Bjerngaard’s journey seems to have come full circle. NextFood represents a symbolic return to his farming roots and his engineering background. His new venture takes all the knowledge and experience that he has harnessed along the way and feeds it back into a project for a better future. “We are heading into a future where there will be two to three billion more people,” said Bjerngaard. “It is just a fact that current technologies are not enough. We need new ways of growing food, and this is part of that. This is part of the solution.” 

The Very Present Future is a series of interviews spearheaded by videographer Milo de Prieto. Metropolitan has teamed up with Milo to interview interesting thinkers and doers from all walks of life, all of whom have had a positive influence on the city in some way.