SkyTree picked up the Innovation Award for its SkyTree Stratus product at this month’s GreenTech exhibition in Amsterdam
Netherlands-based SkyTree won the product innovation award for its SkyTree Stratus Direct Air Capture (DAC) unit for onsite carbon capture and utilisation to meet the needs of large greenhouses and vertical farms.
The machine captures CO2 directly from ambient air and supplies it to greenhouses, with no fossil fuels or waste gases – just clean, recycled CO2.
With the sector still largely dependent on industrial or on-site combustion for CO2 supply, the shift is both environmentally compelling and strategically important.
“Many greenhouses today get their CO2 from fossil fuel sources like gas power plants,” explained Shareen Bodha of SkyTree. “Others burn gas on-site for heat and CO2. Both options contribute to a company’s carbon footprint and are becoming increasingly unreliable.”
“Direct air capture is relatively new,” said Bodha. “And like any new technology – let’s say solar panels 20 years ago or electric vehicles ten years ago – it needs to develop further and it needs scale to bring down cost and to prove itself in the market. But we believe that this technology has exactly the same potential. So that’s what we’re doing. We’re investing to bring this technology to scale so that we can actually prove the long-term feasibility of the technology.”
As industrial CO2 is diverted into long-term storage under new regulations, growers may find themselves at the back of the queue. SkyTree’s system offers them independence. “With one of our machines installed on site, you’re in full control of your own CO2 supply,” said Bodha. “It’s sustainable, local and predictable.”
The technology at the heart of the machine is known as Direct Air Capture (DAC) – essentially removing CO2 directly from the atmosphere. While DAC has attracted headlines as a future-facing climate solution, practical examples have been rare and often prohibitively expensive. SkyTree has taken a different tack.
“Most DAC companies build custom mega-sites,” says Bodha. “We’re building machines – 90 per cent standardised and pre-configured. The remaining 10 per cent can be adapted to local conditions. That makes them quicker to deploy, less capital intensive and more reproducible.”
TNO’s Egon Janssen, chairman of the GreenTech jury, explained its decision to award SkyTree: “The jury recognises CO2 as a critical challenge in the transition to sustainable growing. SkyTree has demonstrated an extraordinary pace in developing and scaling their technology. What truly sets them apart is not only the strength of their innovation, but also their strategic focus on the business case and their effective engagement with government stakeholders. We believe SkyTree is uniquely positioned to support growers on the path toward fossil-free cultivation.”
