Controversy
Status:Open
Will Vertical Farming Achieve Sustained Commercial Profitability?
UNLIKELYLIKELY
Claims
European Commission"Vertical farms spend approximately 60 % of their revenue on electricity costs, meaning only 27 % of these businesses are profitable."Jun 23, 2023
Norman Teo Zhi Wei"The profitability and market penetration of indoor vertical farming face challenges attributed to high upfront costs, energy-intensive lighting requirements, and a nascent market with a shortage of skilled labour."Aug 02, 2024
Frontiers"Findings indicate that, under current conditions in Italy, microgreens vertical farming systems are economically profitable."Jan 14, 2026
Henry Gordon-Smith"Adoption of renewable energy solutions and energy-efficient LEDs will be critical to [vertical farming] profitability."Jan 14, 2026
Adele Peters"The industry is still nascent, and two profitable quarters aren’t conclusive proof that vertical farming can succeed."Jan 14, 2026
Tatsiana Zaretskaya“By optimising the light spectrum, intensity and duration, and using smart control systems, FarMind can help vertical farms reduce their energy costs, making the business more financially sustainable and competitive.”Jun 23, 2023
Andy O'Brien“We’ll be the first vertical farm worldwide with all facilities profitable.”Jan 14, 2026
Farmonaut"We are on track to make resource-efficient vertical farming accessible and profitable for operations of all sizes."Sep 13, 2025
Skyfield Agritech"Larger-scale commercial and or vertical farms would typically yield a break-even time frame of 2–5 years, but would also typically achieve a much larger ROI."Aug 29, 2025
Lombard Odier"Several vertical farms have now achieved profitability at commercial scale, proving that high costs need not be a barrier. "Nov 17, 2025
Growy“Even though it was one of the most advanced farms in the region, we struggled with high costs and inefficiency.”Jan 14, 2026
AgroReality"Only 27% of vertical farms are currently profitable due to electricity expenses, which account for 60% of revenue in some cases."Jan 04, 2026
Paul Gauthier"We are now seeing more simple systems coming up, and they are usually the most profitable ones."Nov 17, 2025
Molly Montgomery“Despite the current skepticism, I think we’ve now demonstrated that vertical farming can be sustainable and profitable and deliver product at scale.”Jan 14, 2026
Henry Gordon-Smith"With robust fundamental drivers and a wave of innovative developments on the horizon, vertical farming is on the brink of a resurgence."Jan 14, 2026
Daniele Benatoff"The result of that is our site is profitable. And without that, there would be no reason to build out others."Jun 10, 2025
Eden Green Technology"The good news is that with Eden Green Technology, it certainly can be!"May 13, 2025
Eddy Badrina"Many companies in the vertical farming space spread themselves too tin by growing a wide range of plants without excelling at any one type, ultimately leading to lack of profitabity."Jan 15, 2025
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.20.4
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.20.4