Partners
21 organisations, 12 countries, one mission
FIT4CEA brings together universities, research institutes, SMEs, growers associations, and civil society organisations across Europe.
Wageningen University & Research is a world-leading institution in the life and natural sciences, consistently ranked first globally in Agriculture and Forestry, with a mission to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. As coordinator of FIT4CEA, Wageningen University brings internationally recognised expertise in controlled environment agriculture, crop physiology, greenhouse systems, and sustainable food production.
Wageningen Research (WR)
Wageningen Research is the applied research arm of Wageningen University & Research, dedicated to translating scientific knowledge into practical solutions for agriculture, food, and the living environment. Its Greenhouse Horticulture unit is a global reference centre for CEA technology innovation, covering energy efficiency, climate management, and the development of grower-facing tools and practices.
Agroscope is Switzerland's federal centre of excellence for agricultural research, affiliated with the Federal Office for Agriculture. It’s mission is to contribute to a sustainable agri-food sector and a healthy environment that improves quality of life. Agroscope conducts research across the entire agri-food value chain and is internationally recognised for its expertise in agri-food sustainability assessment.
Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is the oldest university in the world and one of Europe’s most prestigious research institutions, with a wide range of scientific activities spanning the natural, social, and applied sciences. Within the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, the vegetable crops and urban agriculture research group conducts extensive research on controlled-environment agriculture and food system sustainability.
AmpliAqua is a Portuguese innovation company operating a pre-commercial research and development facility at the port of Nazaré, dedicated to promoting sustainability and innovation in land-based aquaculture through the integration of recirculating aquaculture systems, hydroponics, and microalgae production. Its proprietary multitrophic system contributes to CO₂ mitigation, nutrient recovery, and water circularity in food production.
BGI (Building Global Innovators) is a world-class startup accelerator and venture builder based in Lisbon, Portugal, with a mission to empower innovators and professionals worldwide to transform science into high-impact, sustainable ventures. As a long-standing partner of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, BGI leads Work Package 8 of FIT4CEA, coordinating the project's communication, dissemination, and exploitation strategy.
Blue Radix is a Dutch artificial intelligence company and global market leader in autonomous growing for greenhouse horticulture, whose Crop Controller platform uses AI algorithms to autonomously manage climate and irrigation in greenhouses around the clock, reducing manual workload by up to 80% while delivering measurable improvements in yield, water efficiency, and energy use. Founded in 2019, the company is active across multiple countries and crop types.
COEXPHAL is the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations of Almería, founded in 1976 and representing over 98 producer organisations and approximately 15,000 growers cultivating more than 32,300 hectares of greenhouse crops in southern Spain. It is deeply engaged in European research and innovation on greenhouse sustainability, operates an internal R&D team, and co-funds a Chair of Horticulture at the University of Almería.
Fravebot is a Czech technology company specialising in autonomous robotics and artificial intelligence for greenhouse monitoring and management, developing systems that enable daily plant-level surveillance, pest and disease detection, and yield forecasting through advanced sensors, 4K cameras, and deep neural networks. Its FRAVEBOT Scout platform has been commercially deployed in multiple countries across tomato, cucumber, and strawberry crops.
The Agricultural University of Athens is Greece's foremost institution for agricultural and food science, dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in agronomy, horticulture, food technology, and the natural environment. It brings expertise in greenhouse crop systems and Mediterranean production conditions to FIT4CEA, leading the project's living lab activities in Greece.
Glastuinbouw Nederland is the Dutch greenhouse horticulture industry organisation, representing greenhouse growers across the Netherlands, a country that accounts for approximately 24% of global horticultural trade and is the world's largest exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables by value. The organisation advocates for growers' interests, promotes innovation and sustainability transitions, and connects the sector with research, government, and the broader supply chain.
INESC TEC is a Portuguese Associate Laboratory with over 700 researchers across 13 R&D centres, whose mission is to advance science and technology through excellent research and to promote science-based innovation with measurable social and economic impact. It operates at the interface of the academic and business worlds, with recognised competencies in computer science, industrial and systems engineering, intelligent network systems, and energy systems.
IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute is an independent, non-profit research institute founded in 1966, owned by a foundation jointly established by the Swedish Government and Swedish industry, with a mission to work with applied research and consultancy for an ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable society. It has Sweden's broadest environmental profile, with expertise spanning climate, circular economy, environmental engineering, life cycle assessment, and sustainability transitions.
Kilowatt is a Bolognese cooperative specialising in social innovation, sustainable entrepreneurship, and urban regeneration, best known for managing Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita, Bologna's metropolitan innovation hub for startup incubation, coworking, and community and cultural programming. Its work at the intersection of ART, innovation, citizen engagement, and environmental sustainability makes it a key contributor to FIT4CEA's living lab and dissemination activities in Italy.
Nära Sverige is Sweden's first commercial vertical farm, producing leafy greens, pak choi, and herbs in underground facilities in Stockholm through resource-efficient, year-round indoor growing systems that minimise land use and food transport distances. The company actively collaborates with research institutions on energy efficiency, lighting optimisation, and the environmental performance of urban vertical farming.
Seoul National University is South Korea’s leading university and an internationally recognised centre of expertise in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). The SNU team in FIT4CEA brings expertise in aerodynamics and energy engineering, with extensive experience in indoor air quality, microclimate control, renewable-energy integration, energy-efficient system design, space agriculture, and urban agriculture. Through FIT4CEA, SNU will develop sustainable energy-management and design strategies for building-integrated CEA, supporting efficient resource exchange and contributing to the transition towards climate-resilient, fossil-free food production systems in urban areas.
Tectum Garden is a Catalan company founded in 2020 as a spin-off of the Sostenipra research group at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, specialising in the design and deployment of resource-efficient urban agriculture systems for Mediterranean cities. Its work focuses on rooftop hydroponic installations, circular resource use, and reconnecting urban communities with local food production.
The University of Almería is the leading Spanish university in research on greenhouse horticulture and Mediterranean crop production, featuring multidisciplinary research groups working in areas such as passive climate control, IoT, robotics, automation, data analysis, and water and energy management on CEA systems. It has extensive experience in EU-funded research on CEA sustainability and co-leads the Almería Smart Agri Hub alongside COEXPHAL.
The Autonomous University of Barcelona is a major Spanish research university with a strong international profile in environmental science, sustainability, and interdisciplinary research. It is home to the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), with the Sostenipra group specialising in sustainability assessment and urban food systems. ICTA-UAB hosts one of the world’s first building-integrated rooftop greenhouses. It is also the parent institution of Tectum Garden, a CEA spin-off active in urban agriculture.
Université Laval in Québec City is one of Canada's oldest and most distinguished research universities, with strong programmes in agricultural sciences, horticulture, and food systems adapted to northern and cold-climate conditions. It contributes knowledge on CEA resilience under challenging climates, crop diversification, and the nutritional quality of produce from controlled production environments.
Zemnieku Saeima, or Farmers' Parliament, is Latvia's most influential non-governmental organisation of agricultural and horticultural producers, founded in 1999 and representing over 900 member farms collectively managing more than 500,000 hectares of agricultural land. It represents farmers' interests at national and European Union level through COPA/COGECA and actively participates in EU research and innovation initiatives relevant to the agricultural sector.
This project is funded by the European Union, under the grant no. 101287460.
Contact:
info@fit4cea.eu
Project Coordinator:
Professor Leo Marcelis
leo.marcelis@wur.nl
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