Global food by 2050 to meet the growing population demand. Unfortunately, with agriculture taking up and consuming , resources are maxed out, and the rapid scale up required seems too far out of reach.
Conventional agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions with of greenhouse gas emissions. The downsides of this practice are endless: deforestation, topsoil degradation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, eutrophication鈥� the list goes on and on. But what if there was a way to dramatically increase farming efficiency in a sustainable, cost-efficient way?
Enter vertical farming, where plants are grown in a water-based solution stacked in tower-like structures. Also known as hydroponic farming, this technique reduces the need for cropland allocation, eliminates soil degradation, and Already valued at USD 5 billion in 2023, the at a compound annual growth rate of 12.4% from 2024 to 2030.
With the ability to produce crops year round, combined with the ability to to the plants鈥� individual needs, vertical farming drastically increases yields and cuts costs. It further slashes greenhouse gas emissions and efficiency enhancements, eliminating harmful environmental impacts seen in conventional agriculture practices and providing the scale up needed to address the growing food demand.
Despite these advantages, however, one critical hurdle remains.
The perfect nutrient recipe
As plants grow, they require specific nutrients, absorbing select ions through their roots and leaving others behind. As plants uptake certain elements, they become limited in the solution, eventually hindering further growth.
Because of this nutrient selectivity, it is crucial to measure the ion concentrations in hydroponic growing solutions to ensure they contain the proper 鈥渘utrient recipe鈥� needed for plants to grow.
The current method used to test nutrient concentrations involves taking a water sample and sending it to a lab to record ion concentrations - a cost, labour and time intensive practice that only large farms have resources to do.
That鈥檚 where Ikei comes in.
Ikei 鈥� easy ion measurement device
Ikei, led by recent 9I制作厂免费 PhD graduate Minh Tran, has a mission to optimize the nutrient profile in controlled agriculture environments using their novel nutrient-ion sensor. This cost-efficient nutrient-ion monitoring system is designed to increase efficiency in hydroponic crop growth.聽
The team has come a long way since winning the MIF Discover ($25,000) award in 2023 which came with a $40,000 cleantech supplemental award courtesy of alumnus Marc Boghossian. They were also the recipient of the Chwang Seto Innovation Fellowship, further supporting their process to commercialization. And in 2024 they came back for more, winning the MIF Develop award of $50,000.
鈥淐urrent ion-selective electrodes used in hydroponics are not user-friendly, have a limited shelf life, and a high manufacturing cost鈥�, Tran explained. He aims to address these issues with Ikei, a聽durable, cost competitive, user-friendly device聽that measures nutrients in the growing solution onsite and in real time. It completely eliminates the need for lab sample testing and has potential to greatly improve crop yields.
To measure nutrient concentrations, 鈥渁 typical sensor contains a water chamber and a membrane that has an affinity for specific ions鈥�, Tran said. 鈥淎s the ions in the solution flow through the membrane, certain ions get stuck, and their electrical potential is measured.鈥�
Unfortunately, current technology can鈥檛 pinpoint specific ion concentrations, only the total, and because the membrane is immersed in water, it loses its ability to function after six months. Further, the general practice of testing concentrations is extremely costly, especially for small-scale farms.
Recognizing the need for innovation, Ikei addresses these pitfalls. The Ikei sensor can operate for years, drastically extending shelf life by limiting water use. Made from graphene,聽it delivers high-performance functionality and cost-effective manufacturing. It identifies specific ion concentrations onsite, providing detailed insights without the need for lab testing.
鈥淲e are currently further developing the system to allow for automatic nutrient measurement and concentration adjustment based on what ions are limited in the solution, allowing plants to get the nutrients they need鈥�, Tran noted. 鈥淥ur goal is to provide farms with a user-friendly, low-cost method to optimize plant growth.鈥�
Funded and supported by the MIF, Tran has worked on growing his network to partner with local farms to test his prototype.
Together with Gush, a Montreal-based vertical strawberry farm, they conducted preliminary testing on potassium and calcium levels within the growing solution.
鈥淲e were generally impressed with how robust the design was and how simple the protocol is鈥�, said Phil Rosenbaum, co-CEO of Gush. Gush is excited for future ion-selective electrodes as a viable technology to improve hydroponic farming and hopes to continue their partnership with Ikei.
With ambitious goals to apply to the MIF Deploy ($100,000) stage in 2026, Tran is continuously improving his product design and utilizing MIF resources to help partner with farms for testing.
With the rapid expected growth in the industry, Tran鈥檚 nutrient-ion measurement sensor can fill a niche market to help improve efficiency by making it easy and simple to measure nutrient concentrations, advancing the adoption of vertical farming as a widespread practice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about the chicken vs. the egg,鈥� Tran said. 鈥淎s hydroponics becomes more prevalent, it fuels demand for advanced technological solutions. In turn, these innovations make hydroponics even more accessible and efficient, creating a cycle of growth鈥攁nd Ikei is here to drive that forward.鈥�
