LIFE FARMITANK: more food, less water use and lower emissions - growing the future of agriculture inside a stainless-steel tank

More people, less farmland, a changing climate and a food system under pressure. By 2050, global food demand is projected to grow by more than 50%, and the traditional answers are running out of road. LIFE FARMITANK, coordinated by Spanish stainless-steel manufacturer PARCITANK and co-financed by the LIFE Programme, set out to find an alternative approach: growing food locally in vertical farming systems, without pesticides and with a fraction of conventional water use.

"What we aim to achieve with vertical farming is consistent quality, costs and yields throughout the year, independent of external weather conditions, with production that is local and close to the cities where the food will be consumed," says Project Manager Cristian Nieves.

LIFE FARMITANK set out to demonstrate that vertical farming inside a dismountable tank can offer a scalable response to these challenges and the results today provide strong supporting evidence.

The evidence: environmental and productivity gains

During the project, the team grew lettuce, basil, coriander, chives and microgreens and compared results directly with conventional agriculture. To measure the true environmental impact of each production method, the team carried out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This scientific tool evaluates a product's environmental footprint across its entire lifespan, from the energy and resources used in production through to delivery to the consumer. The results were striking:

• Water consumption fell by up to 98%. A lettuce grown in a FARMITANK unit requires just one litre of water over its entire lifecycle, against 25-35 litres in the field. This is made possible through hydroponic techniques, growing plants in nutrient-rich water rather than soil, and continuous water recirculation, so that only what the plant actually needs is ever used. Water recovered from the dehumidification of the air inside the tank is also fed back into irrigation.
• The carbon footprint of lettuce production was 13% lower than that of conventional equivalents, while coriander came in 29% lower.
• As this system eliminates the need for chemical products, around 7 kg of pesticides and 1kg of herbicides were avoided during the project period (around 2,5 years). In productivity terms, aromatic herbs yielded up to 1,000% more per m² than soil-based growing, lettuce up to 600% more, and microgreens up to 200% more. Lettuce can reach 25 harvests per year inside the tank, compared to just 5 in the field in Spain.

Because no pesticides are used and the product does not need washing before consumption, it also has a longer shelf life (the period during which the product remains safe and suitable for consumption), which reduces food waste further down the chain, from supermarkets to the consumers' tables. "The product does not suffer the effects of washing and post-harvest handling", explains Nieves.

How the FARMITANK tower works

The FARMITANK system is a modular cylindrical tower made of stainless-steel, ranging from 3 to 18 metres in height and providing up to 400 m²of growing area on just 40m²of ground. At its core is a central lifting platform, allowing ergonomic access to all growing levels for sowing, transplanting and harvesting, while also enabling automation and reducing handling time. The system is designed to be accessible, including for people with disabilities.

Inside the tank, all growing conditions - temperature, humidity, air flow, CO₂ and irrigation - are precisely controlled and monitored remotely, with real-time alerts.

Crops grow under calibrated red and blue LED lighting, where spectrum and intensity can be adjusted to optimise plant development. This allows different crops to be cultivated simultaneously, while reflective surfaces ensure uniform light distribution and deliver energy savings of around 15% compared to other vertical farming systems.

Life after LIFE: moving towards the market

Since the project concluded in 2024, PARCITANK has sold five FARMITANK units, including to a supermarket chain, with a new installation planned, for a university researching plants for use in functional foods. The company is now targeting markets across Europe and the Middle East, with entry-level units start from around €150,000.

While energy costs remain a challenge, the outlook is positive. As Project Manager Cristian Nieves explains, the technology is not intended to replace conventional agriculture, but to complement it - particularly in regions facing constraints related to food security, resources or labour.

Impact of the LIFE Programme and close-to-market

(C2M) support

C2M experts supported the project throughout its implementation, as Nieves says: "the team offered us continuous support and guidance throughout all stages of implementation, providing advisory services, mentoring, funding guidance, marketing support, and strategic advice on how to promote the technology. They also helped us identify relevant opportunities to showcase the technology at European-level fairs and congresses, increasing the project's visibility and outreach of the results."

According to Cristian Nieves, the LIFE Programme support was essential: "Without this project, we would likely not have been able to demonstrate the real advantages of this type of agriculture ."

Learn more about the LIFE FARMITANK project in our project fiche.

The LIFE FARMITANK project supports the Farm to Fork Strategy.

How LIFE helps Close-to-market projects

LIFE C2M initiative supports LIFE beneficiaries in bringing their innovative green solutions to market. Beneficiaries gain access to a dedicated support team with extensive experience, offering business coaching, advisory on business strategy development, pitching presentation guidance and expert connections, among other services.

Looking for support to develop your clean-tech solution and bring it to market? Check out the LIFE Close-to-market webpage.