Naaldwijk – On Friday 31 May, the first edition of the HortiHeroes Hackathon took place. In World Horti Center, eight student teams from nine different educational institutions set to work on the challenge of the Food & Flower industry: how can we produce fresh vegetables and plants in the Netherlands in a completely CO2-neutral and profitable way? With experts from Rijk Zwaan, Koppert Cress, Glastuinbouw Nederland and RoboCrops, among others, they worked all day on solutions, with the ultimate goal of a pitch for the professional jury. Team ‘Mermen’ emerged as the big winner and went home with € 1,000. They are focusing on Riothermy, which allows them to recycle the heat from the sewer system to heat greenhouses.
Dutch greenhouse horticulture strives for responsible and sustainable food, green and floriculture production. Despite the major steps that have been taken in terms of energy saving and sustainability in the field of geothermal energy, solar energy, heat pumps, residual heat and hydrogen, the ambition is to grow CO2-neutral as soon as possible. That means no more use of gas. During the HortiHeroes Hackathon, 40 students worked in teams on the question: how can the horticultural sector achieve this goal for 2040 cost-effective and on a large scale??
Team Mermen, consisting of students from The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Inholland University of Applied Sciences and Erasmus University Rotterdam, won the Hackathon with a strong pitch on ‘Riothermy’; heat recycling from the local sewer that can be used to heat greenhouses. The technology reduces CO2 emissions with the help of a smart circular local heating system. . Team HortiHackers, with students from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Wageningen University & Research, won the public award with the concept ‘Diginnovation’, also known as the ‘Tweakers for Horticulture’, the platform where you gain insight into relevant digital sustainable innovations with reviews and simulations using ‘digi twins’, or a digital replica that is so good that you can base decisions for the real process on it.
Sadiq van Overbeek (Eneco): “As a jury, we are hugely impressed by the diversity and creativity in one day. The solutions are both technical and facilitating, as well as from the perspective of cultivation. With ‘Riothermie’, the winner is not only very innovative, but also an opportunity for the region to work together locally in a circular way,” on behalf of the jury with Puck van Holsteijn, Wim Grootscholten and Jolanda Mourits.
During the day, the students – under the guidance of sector experts from Rijk Zwaan, Koppert Cress, Division Q, Glastuinbouw Nederland, Voltiris, RoboCrops and ACCEZ, among others – competed with each other in teams during a day full of inspiration, sketching and planing. But not only that, in addition to hacking, the program also consisted of workshops in idea generation, pitching and a tour in the Vertify greenhouse.
Fabienne van der Klugt-Gram (HortiHeroes): “What an energy! Very cool to involve the ideas and knowledge of students from so many different disciplines in the future of sustainable horticulture! This edition was such a success that we get a lot of questions about the next edition. So it will definitely happen, focused on the other major transition: labour and robotisation!”
The HortiHeroes Hackathon was an initiative of HortiHeroes, realized in collaboration with World Horti Center, Division Q, Koppert Cress, Rijk Zwaan, Glastuinbouw Nederland, Greenhouse as an Energy Source, RoboCrops, Greenport Horti Campus, MBO Westland, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Lentiz, Accez, Vertify, Voltiris, part of Upstream Festival and with the support of National Growth Fund Katapult.