An operator runs a routine check of the photobioreactor at the Algalif facilities in Reykjanesbaer, Iceland. Algalif is one of the top European biotech startups that grows micro-algae to produce astaxanthin, a food supplement with antioxidant properties. The Algalif plant is fully sustainable: it uses 100% clean geothermal energy and the process is carbon negative since carbon dioxide is reused to feed microalgae in a cycle that turns waste into value.

The largest indoor vertical farm in Europe, Nordic Harvest, in Copenhagen. With 14 floors and a full production capacity yield of more than 3.000 kg every day, it is also the most efficient vertical farm in Europe to date. By having full control over the plants’ environment, the indoor farm can deliver herbs and lettuces every day year round, with no need of pesticides, herbicides nor any toxic chemicals. The farm is supplied by wind energy and thanks to the hydroponic-based technology, it uses a very limited amount of water. According to Nordic Harvest, this means up to 250 times less water consumption than on a field and they use 250 times less space than if the plants were cultivated in a field. Vertical farming allows to free up agricultural land and fight deforestation.

A worker is harvesting tomatoes in the greenhouse of H2Orto, Ostellato, Ferrara. In the greenhouse, high-efficiency LED lights are used to allow winter production, ensuring all-year-round tomato harvesting. The site applies a system of circular economy and uses 100% green energy provided by the nearby biogas plant. Tomatoes are grown in a controlled environment, safeguarded from external pollutants, therefore there is no need for herbicides and glyphosates.

An aerial view of Nature Urbaine roof farm in Paris. Nature Urbaine has recently opened the world's largest urban farm on the rooftop of Paris Expo’s Pavillon 6, covering an area of 14,000 square metres. Nature Urbaine is already supplying local residents and neighbour hotels and restaurants with a km0 sustainable vegetable produce.

An operator in the Innovafeed industrial production site in Nesle, France. The Innovafeed plant in Nesle opened in November 2020 and is the world’s largest operating production unit of insect proteins. Insect farming is one of the possible ways to a more sustainable food supply. Innovafeed has developed a method for large-scale automated production that respects the natural life cycle of insects. The site produces insect proteins and oil derived from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae for animal and plant nutrition. The production unit is co-located with a starch manufacturer, which provides wheat waste for insect feeding and with a biomass plant which powers the site by 100% renewable energy. The company estimates that this cooperation will save 57,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

El Hierro, Canary Island, Banana Greenhouse. El Hierro, the first island in the world to have achieved energy self-sufficiency. This large 125,000 m2 greenhouse surrounded by lava by the sea is a privileged place for growing tropical fruits. These plantations, which also consume electricity, will certainly benefit from the proliferation of renewable energies. The farm holds the Guinness World Record for the largest banana pineapple ever recorded, weighing 130kg and containing 473 bananas.

The state-of-the-art production facility at Jongerius Ecoduna GmbH in Austria, where innovative vertical photobioreactors are used to cultivate premium microalgae. This sustainable approach not only maximizes efficiency but also significantly reduces environmental impact, underscoring the crucial role of algae in the transition towards a greener future.

Black soldier flies at Innovafeed production site, in Nesle, France. Insect production is a pioneering and innovative industry for providing novel sustainable feeding. Innovafeed has developed a proprietary method for large-scale automated production, while respecting the natural life cycle of insects. The company has estimated that each ton of fishmeal replaced by insect proteins saves 660kg of CO2, while each ton of vegetable oil replaced by insect oil can save at least 3800m2 of arable land and 1200kg of CO2 and has no impact on deforestation.

A biotechnician in Nordic Harvest laboratory, in Copenaghen, Denmark. Nordic Harvest is the largest and most efficient indoor vertical farm in Europe. The farm produces on-site microbial bio-fertilizers made from fermented plant waste.

Final refinement of a 54-meter blade at Vestas manufacturing facility in Taranto, Italy. Vestas is the leading producer of wind power plant solutions with more than 100 GW of wind turbines installed in 80 countries. The large manufacturing site is located in the industrial area of Taranto, a city renowned for its highly polluting steel manufacturing and oil refinery plants. Vestas’ site specialises in blade production and employs about 800 people in a green industry. Taranto is a convenient location for blade manufacturing thanks to the proximity of the harbor from where the blades are shipped worldwide.

The combined heat-and-power waste-to-energy power plant Amager Bakke in the industrial outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Amager Bakke is the world's cleanest waste-to-energy facility and it also hosts a recreational area called CopenHill with its own ski slope, the world's tallest climbing wall and hiking trails up the building. Opened in October 2019, the building was designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (aka BIG) with the aim at creating a building that can "contribute positively to the city, become part of the city, and even to be a landmark of the capital". The plant serves 680,000 people and takes waste from up to 300 lorries each day.

Daily operations at the indoor vertical farming of Agricola Moderna, near Milan, Italy. Indoor vertical farming is a sustainable farming method which enables 98% saving on land usage and 95% water usage reduction.

The greenhouse of H2Orto (a company of Fri-El group) in Ostellato, Ferrara, Italy. The site applies the principles of circular economy and uses 100% green energy provided by the nearby biogas plant. Tomatoes are grown in a controlled environment, safeguarded from external pollutants, with no need for herbicides and glyphosates. At the end of the life cycle, plants become the fuel for the biogas plant that powers the greenhouse. Rainwater is collected and reused for irrigation, and a reduction of 70% water usage compared to traditional crops is obtained thanks to the hydroponic growing method.

Air shower to clean personnel before they enter the cultivation facility in Nordic Harvest. The farming area is carefully protected from external contaminants so that plants grow in a completely clean environment without any risk coming from pests, fungal spores or bacteria. Each operator follows a strict procedure before entering the cultivation area, wears clean coating and pass through this air shower before accessing the farm.

Innovafeed black soldier flies larvae during the growth phase. The insects are a sustainable source of proteins and fatty oils for aquaculture, poultry and swine feeding. As a by-product of its insect farm, Innovafeed also produces and sells a natural organic fertilizer.

The production site of 3SUN in Catania, Italy. 3SUN has recently presented a project to build the “3SUN Gigafactory”, a large manufacturing site to increase the photovoltaic module production to over 3GW per year. This plan was included in Ernst & Young’s report “A green Covid19 recovery and resilience plan for Europe” which lists the most relevant projects that may immediately generate positive impacts for the European economy.

The concentrated solar power plant of Gemasolar in Fuentes de Andalucía in the province of Seville, Spain. Gemasolar is the first commercial plant in the world able to provide a full day of uninterrupted power supply to the grid. It uses the high temperature tower receiver together with molten salt thermal storage of very long duration. The system stores the excess thermal energy produced during daylight hours and provides the energy required to ensure the plant can remain operational for up to 15 hours without sunlight.

The indoor vertical farming of Agricola Moderna, near Milan, Italy. Each variety is lightened with the ideal lights for ripening and grow in a controlled environment, which means there is no need for any chemicals or pesticides.

An aerial view of the greenhouse of H2Orto, in Ostellato, Ferrara, Italy. The company grows tomatoes in a sustainable way thanks to innovative technology and the use of the circular economy. High-efficiency LED lights are used in the greenhouse to enable winter production and ensure year-round tomato harvesting. This hydroponic cultivation allows the same yield with one-tenth of the cultivated area used by traditional agriculture, greatly reducing the environmental impact.

CEO of Algaennovation, monitors one of their photobioreactors in the micro-algae production facility, at ON’s Geothermal Park in Hellisheidi. Algaennovation uses water and electricity from the nearby Hellisheidi geothermal power plant and exploits carbon dioxide emissions in a process that turns waste to value in a sustainable manner. Their proprietary technology for micro-algae cultivation enables Algaennovation to have negative carbon footprints and use less than 1% of freshwater and land areas used by conventional small-scale algae companies.

Les Mees solar park in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, France. The plant is seamlessly integrated in the mountain landscape. The plant generates 35,000MWh electricity and supplies enough clean energy to power 12,000 households, offsetting 40,000t of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) a year.

Hrefna, a volunteer of the Icelandic forest service (IFS). The country lost most of its trees more than a thousand years ago, when Vikings settlers harvested the forests to build their homes and boats and as fuel. As climate change has become a greater concern, Iceland’s leaders have viewed reforestation as a way to help the country meet its climate goals. Volunteers assist the forest associations by planting seedlings and by fertilising young trees. Thanks to the reforestation initiatives more than three million were planted in recent years.

Wells and pipes in Krafla geothermal power station, in northern Iceland. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source with a low environmental impact compared to fossil fuel power plants. The exploitation of geothermal resources may lead to greenhouse gas emissions, but all carbon emissions from the Krafla Power Station are substantially reduced by reinjecting them back into the geothermal wells to ensure the least impact on the environment. In 2020 about 50,000 tonnes of CO2 were injected back into the geothermal reservoir. The gases react with basaltic subsurface rocks to form stable minerals for safe, long-term storage of the injected gases.

The new cogeneration and waste-to-energy plant built by IREN in Turin, Italy. This low- carbon emission plant is used for the largest district-heating network in Italy and will save 135,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

The clean room where photovoltaic modules are produced at 3SUN facilities, Catania, Italy. 3SUN bifacial photovoltaic modules are built with Hetero Junction Technology which uses both amorphous and crystalline silicon. These PV modules also collect the solar radiation from the back side, which enables an efficiency of more than 20% and a nominal power of 400W.

Avedore multi-fuel power plant, Copenhagen, Denmark. The plant can use natural gas (Ngas), oil, straw and wood pellets for simultaneous generation of heat and electricity. The plant is one of the most energy efficient plants in the world, as it exploits up to 94% of the energy in the fuels and operates with an electrical efficiency of up to 49%. The electricity generated by the plant offset 325,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

A view of Middelgrunden offshore wind farm from Amager Strand, a very popular beach in Copenhagen. The wind farm was developed thanks to a Cooperative with a the strong involvement of the local community in the planning phase and as investors. Now 8.552 electricity consumers, private citizens and small companies, are co-owners of the wind farm. Middelgrunden wind farm is producing electricity for more than 40,000 households in Copenhagen. Private individuals have played an important role in the development of Denmark into a strong wind nation from the very beginning and till today, when 14.4% of Danish electricity consumption is provided by the wind. More than 150,000 Danish families are members of wind turbine cooperatives.