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Sustainable indoor agriculture company AeroFarms unveiled its newest cutting-edge facility — a research and development farm in Abu Dhabi.

Considered the world’s largest indoor vertical farm, the 65,000-square-foot facility is being launched with the support of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) as part of the nation’s goal to create sustainable opportunities to further next generation agriculture in arid and desert environments, the Newark-based agricultural technology company announced in a Feb. 15 press release.

Since AeroFarms’ launch in 2004, the company has focused on expanding its commercial and R&D indoor farms and leveraging its technology platform to help “solve a broader array of agricultural challenges,” according to David Rosenberg, co-founder and chief executive officer of AeroFarms.

With the grand opening of the new indoor farm – dubbed AeroFarms AgX – as well as the company’s continued partnership with ADIO, Rosenberg reaffirmed Aerofarms’ larger “commitment to help transform agriculture, accelerate innovating cycles, and commercialize new products for the region and the world.”

ADIO acting Director Abdulla Abdul Aziz AlShamsi said deploying AeroFarms’ proprietary smart agriculture technology platform, AgTech, aligns “perfectly” with the nation’s priority “to advance technological solutions that further economic progress for the region and beyond.”

He went on to say, “ADIO’s mission is to help innovative companies like AeroFarms start, scale, and succeed in Abu Dhabi by providing access to the emirate’s innovation ecosystem and infrastructure. We’re excited for AeroFarms to start the next phase of its journey and contribute to solving global agriculture challenges from its advanced facility in the UAE capital.”

Growing sustainably

AeroFarms AgX has already made several key hires locally and will employ over 60 highly skilled engineers, horticulturists and scientists in its high-tech labs, according to AeroFarms.

The team at AeroFarms AgX will also collaborate on R&D with strategic partners, like Cargill and Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR) Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) Consortium. One of the first agreements will be with Silal, a subsidiary of holding company ADQ that is focused on diversifying food sources and increasing locally grown, raised and manufactured food, AeroFarms said.

Salmeen Alameri, chief executive officer of Silal, described the partnership as a “milestone” in developing “an ecosystem for AgriTech innovation toward effective long-term agriculture practices in Abu Dhabi.”

“Research and development are at the heart of everything we do at Silal, and we want to ensure that Abu Dhabi’s agricultural sector continues to grow sustainably. Silal is proud to partner with AeroFarms, and through this collaboration, Silal will continue to support farmers and local food production,” Alameri stated.

Rosenberg said the company is excited to team up with Silal and “create innovative agricultural breakthroughs to improve the food system in the UAE given how much food is currently imported and the challenges of growing outdoors in this arid environment.”

“This partnership is representative of how our growing technology platform can help address a wide range of traditional agriculture challenges compounded by climate change and supply chain challenges,” he said.

Known for its specialty greens that are pesticide free and ready to eat, AeroFarms has deals with major retailers, such as Amazon Fresh, Walmart, Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market, as well as multiyear strategic partnerships with entities ranging from government agencies to major Fortune 500 companies to solve agriculture supply chain needs.

The grand opening of AeroFarms AgX comes as the company continues its efforts to expand in the Middle East.

Earlier this month, AeroFarms said it signed a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to establish a company in the capital city of Riyadh to build and operate commercial indoor vertical farms in the country as well as the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The company also recently announced a partnership with the Qatar Free Zones Authority and Doha Venture Capital to build a facility that aims to decrease the country’s reliance on imports by making high-quality food products more readily available throughout the year.