Project

GLastuinbouw Innovates through Co-creation with low-carbon High Tech

Acronym
GLITCH
Code
41q00118
Duration
01 June 2018 → 31 May 2021
Funding
European funding: various
Research disciplines
  • Engineering and technology
    • Electrical power engineering
    • Energy generation, conversion and storage engineering
Keywords
low-carbon high tech
 
Project description

The objectives of the GLITCH project are:
- support the greenhouse horticulture sector in the development and implementation of more energy-efficient and climate-neutral cultivation systems and
techniques.
- on the basis of a number of concrete demonstrations and technological cases initiated by the greenhouse horticulture sector
innovation processes by managing and facilitating co-creation processes with partners from the supply chain. Hereby co-creation roadmaps
applied (with techniques and tools) with an emphasis on CO2 reduction and market orientation aimed at SME / SME
- realize smart crossovers between the greenhouse horticulture sector (agrofood), high-tech systems and materials
- making resources available and accessible for the broader sector, and by extension for business in general
- fit within the top clusters of the Regional Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (RIS3) for the South of the Netherlands and Flanders
GLITCH will focus on the innovation process itself: How can companies through co-creation with relevant stakeholders through the production
successful, low-carbon innovation? GLITCH contributes to:
- strengthening the market-driven, competitive strength and profitability of greenhouse horticulture companies and high-tech
businesses
- who face innovation and co-creation challenges
- with other stakeholders in the supply chain (growers, researchers, technology companies)
- with a focus on low-carbon technologies
- that benefit from structured management and facilitation of this process.
The concrete innovation projects are:
- Energy-efficient lighting techniques
- Energy-efficient cultivation systems
- Utilization of low-grade heat
- Use of CO2 from flue gases while maintaining air quality in the conservatory
- Plasma technology for energy-efficient nitrogen production
- Energy-balancing day screens
- Energy-balancing night screens
- Evaporation heat pump development
- Cultivation test.
A roadmap will be developed during this process to help greenhouse horticulture companies to bring a co-creative and low-carbon innovation into a market-compliant, competitive and profitable end product or process. This roadmap will then be actively communicated and promoted in the greenhouse horticulture sector and by extension, by all companies that want to do sustainable and innovative co-creation.

 
Role of Ghent University
Ghent University (Research Group Technical Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer) is the developer, builder and tester of the vapor heat pump within GLITCH. The vapor heat pump is an efficient air dehumidification technology that converts the energy present in the vapor of the air into sensible heat and water. The vapor heat pump consists of a heat mass exchanger that condenses the moisture present in the air onto a brine solution and an evaporator that concentrates the diluted brine solution. In this work, Ghent University continues to build on the knowledge gained in the “EXEkas” project of innovative procurement (2015-2017). In this project, a functioning heat mass exchanger was designed, built and tested in a 720m² test greenhouse and an evaporator was built that does not yet meet the design requirements. Within Glitch, Ghent University is therefore designing a new evaporator for salt solutions. The type is a heat pump driven vacuum evaporator. An interested industrial partner will build the evaporator. Ghent University will then test this installation in the lab and the evaporator will be connected to the installed heat mass exchanger in the 720m² test greenhouse with tomatoes. The vapor heat pump will then be put into operation in the greenhouse in 2019 together with a new type of screens with the aim of a heat demand reduction of 70-80% compared to current practice and equal tomato production. This lays the foundation for climate-neutral greenhouse horticulture! ​ Feedback sturen Zijvensters
 
 
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Regional Development Fund, ERDF. Neither the European Union nor the authority can be held responsible for any use the may be made of the information contained therein.