Presentation of the FIT4CEA project at European Researchers’ Night in Almeria
On September 25, 2026, University of Almería researchers presented the FIT4CEA project at European Researchers' Night in Almería. The team detailed 2026–27 tomato trials currently underway across five greenhouses at the UAL-ANECOOP Experimental Farm Foundation. Interactive demonstrations showcased passive climate control strategies, specifically shade netting, photoselective insect-proof screens, and white marble gravel mulch, using thermographic imaging to illustrate their effect on greenhouse radiation balance. Videos were also shown of the interior of the greenhouses where the trials are being conducted at the UAL Living Lab. European Researchers' Night in Almería engaged more than 16,000 attendees with UAL’s research initiatives.
COEXPHAL set up a small demonstration greenhouse in Almería for the European Researchers' Night and used it to show FIT4CEA to children, families and anyone passing by. Inside, visitors found tomato, pepper and courgette plants next to boxes of bumblebees, the same pollinators growers in Almería use every season. Our team explained how climate control, precision fertigation, biological pest control and digital monitoring help growers produce good crops with less water, fertiliser and pesticides.
“We introduced hundreds of residents in Almería to the use of passive climate control systems to improve the resilience of local greenhouses against rising temperatures caused by climate change. “- Francisco Domingo Molina Aiz (Researcher at the University of Almería).
