News
Five years of the future of agriculture in Oberhausen
Sep. 9, 2024 The inauguration of the ALTMARKTgarten on the roof of the Oberhausen Job Centre on 26 September 2019 marked the start of a flagship project for urban agriculture. This is not just a pure production facility, which will grow produce on over 1000 m².
AI-controlled production of soft fruits using new sensor systems
Aug. 15, 2024 Obst- und Gemüse-Absatzgenossenschaft Nordbaden eG and Obstgroßmarkt Mittelbaden eG have commissioned Fraunhofer UMSICHT to further develop a new cultivation method. The focus of the ‘inBerry’ project, which has now been launched, is a data-driven...
Impressions from the official opening of the SUSKULT pilot plant
Nov. 17, 2022 On 13 September 2022, the SUSKULT pilot plant was inaugurated at the Emschermündung wastewater treatment plant together with Mario Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. For those who couldn't be...
The ‘ALTMARKTgarten’ wins the Nike Architecture Prize 2022
July 12, 2022 The Nike Architecture Prize for Symbolism of the Association of German Architects BDA goes to the ALTMARKTgarten project in Oberhausen in 2022. The Nike Architecture Awards recognise architects and clients for pioneering projects that promote building...
Vertical Farming in Düsseldorf
Sep 7, 2021 Resource-saving alternative for vegetable cultivation close to consumers The trend is clearly moving towards sustainable nutrition, with an increasing focus on quality and regionality. A major challenge, especially for densely populated areas. The city of...
The ‘ALTMARKTgarten’ wins the 2020 Fritz Höger Gold Award
Jan. 20, 2021 The project ‘Building-integrated rooftop greenhouse and administration building at Altmarkt in Oberhausen’ won over the expert jury and prevailed against almost 600 submissions from all over the world. The architectural firm Kuehn Malvezzi received the...
One year of sustainable food from the city
Sep 24, 2020 A year ago, the ALTMARKTgarten was opened on the roof of the Oberhausen job centre. The inFARMING® concept developed at Fraunhofer UMSICHT is used to produce salads, herbs and other produce for the local market. The special thing about this is the
Dates
2025
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Indoor Farming 4.0
On May 9, our colleague Dr.-Ing. Felix Thoma will discuss the role of technology and automation in Indoor-Farming. The occasion is the online event ‘Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Indoor Farming 4.0’. In his presentation, Felix Thoma will take a look at new developments in the fields of advanced sensing and plant quality and will also present a showcase for sustainable farming: In the ALTMARKTgarten in Oberhausen, a rooftop greenhouse provides the setting for urban, building-integrated agriculture. More info…
2024
The future of food: Oberhausen focuses on building-integrated agriculture
Report by Business Metropole Ruhr: Ten billion people worldwide by 2050, significantly more than half of them living in cities and mega-cities; ten billion people who need to be fed: The UN’s forecasts could hardly emphasise more clearly how important the sustainable use of resources is. However, climate change and extreme weather conditions are already presenting agriculture with enormous challenges. A project from the Ruhr region therefore aims to sustainably utilise precisely the potential that exists in abundance in urban regions: Buildings. More info…
3rd International Workshop on Vertical Farming (VertiFarm2024)
From 16-19 January, UMSICHT scientist Felix Thoma will be taking part in the international workshop on vertical farming in Bologna (Italy) as a speaker. In his lecture ‘Non-Destructive Measurement of Secondary Metabolites in Plants’ on 18 January, he will present our latest developments for determining the quality of plants during indoor cultivation. More info…
2023
Sustainable food production in the city
This year, VertiFarm in Dortmund will open its doors to trade visitors and anyone interested in vertical farming & new food systems from 26 to 28 September 2023. Visit us at stand 4.G02 and talk to Fraunhofer researchers about innovative agricultural systems and the technologies required for them. We also recommend the presentation by Dr Felix Thoma on ‘Latest technical developments in the field of indoor farming’ – on the first day of the fair at 2 pm. More info…
Radio report from SWR2 Wissen
The radio programme ‘Saving resources, wasting less – new approaches to agricultural technology’ takes a look behind the scenes of the SUSKULT project. More information…
Interview on the inFARMING® development platform
In an interview with bioökonmie.de, UMSICHT scientist Volkmar Keuter explains what is behind the platform and how modern agricultural systems can contribute to reducing emissions. More info…
International Conference on UV LED Technologies & Applications – ICULTA 2023
From 23-26 April, UMSICHT scientist Felix Thoma will take part in ICULTA 2023 as an invited speaker. His presentation is entitled ‘Recent UV-LED applications in the field of Indoor-Farming – Lighting & Detection’. More info…
2022
Photonic Days Berlin Brandenburg 2022
On 6 October, UMSICHT scientist Felix Thoma will take part in the international Photonic Days as a speaker. He will present his lecture ‘Indoor-Farming – Current Developments in Exposure & Sensor Technology’ on 6 October at 12 noon. More info…
Producing in the city
Visit us from 27 to 29 September 2022 at stand 5.A16 and talk to Fraunhofer researchers about innovative agricultural systems and the technologies required for them. We also recommend the presentation by Volkmar Keuter on ‘Indoor Farming – Highlights of latest technical developments’ – on the first day of the fair at 1 pm. More info…
Visit from Down Under
Ross Harding from Finding Infinity in Melbourne visited the ALTMARKTgarten in Oberhausen on his trip to Europe. For a film on the circular economy, he had UMSICHT scientist Volkmar Keuter explain how the inFARMING® concept works.
Indoor farming and photonics
What is happening in the field of lighting and sensor technology in indoor farming? Volkmar Keuter will answer this question on 29 June in Zurich. The UMSICHT scientist will be taking part as a speaker in the knowledge room seminar ‘Smart Farming enabled by PHOTONICS’ organised by SPECTARIS GmbH and the Swiss association Swissmem-Industriesektor Photonics. More info…
2021
ARD morning programme in the Altmarktgarten
A team from ARD MoMa visited the Altmarktgarten on 8 July and spoke with UMSICHT scientist Volkmar Keuter. You can see the result here.
Urban agriculture in Oberhausen
In an article for the programme Zeitfragen on Deutschland Kultur, Kai Rüsberg sheds light on how Fraunhofer UMSICHT is testing urban agriculture in the heart of Oberhausen. The author also reports on the BMBF joint project SUSKULT here.
Webinar on indoor farming
Dennis Schlehuber and Felix Thoma from Fraunhofer UMSICHT explain in the Photonic-Net webinar on 18 March how optical systems can be used to increase plant quality. Registration and further information here.
Intralogistics podcast on the topic of vertical farming
The podcast ‘Irgendwas mit Logistik’ has dedicated an episode to the topic of vertical farming. The conversation with UMSICHT scientist Volkmar Keuter and Timo Landener from Swisslog focussed on the status quo and social acceptance, among other things. The result will be available here from 1 March.
2020
Podcast of the food industry: Urban Farming
Is urban farming an alternative to traditional agriculture? In search of answers, students at the Technical University of Nuremberg spoke to UMSICHT scientist Volkmar Keuter and others about the ALTMARKTgarten. The result is available here as a podcast.
2016
Together with the construction of the jobcenter in Oberhausen a building integrated glasshouse on the rooftop (so called »Altmarkthalle«) will be constructed. The integrated glasshouse on the rooftop will be supported by federal program »Nationale Projekte des Städtebaus«. On a surface of 990 spm at the rooftop a production area and a smaller area for R&D will be the result. Both the jobcenter and the integrated glasshouse on the rooftop were part of architectural competition which was won by the architects Kuehn Malvezzi. Together with the developers, OGM, the city of Oberhausen, the architect team, Fraunhofer UMSICHT and further person responsible the building will be completed by the end of the year 2018, December 2016
inFARMING® | technical approaches for indoor horticultural systems of the future
7th International AgroSpace Workshop,
26.-27. May 2016, Sperlonga, Italy
»Forschungsdialog Zukunftsstadt – von der Vision zur Realität«
3th March 2016, from 2 to 5 pm at Fraunhofer UMSICHT Oberhausen
»Green Future – Cities Need New Product Choices«
Wednesday, 27 January 2016, from 10:30 to 12:00 at the Congress Center East, Ruhr Hall