Daingean hydroponic farm supported by BNM programme
Offaly’s Real Leaf Farm near Daingean is one of just eight companies across Ireland selected to take part in a prestigious new programme aimed at supporting early-stage companies leading the response to climate action and sustainability.
The new incubator programme, Accelerate Green is delivered by Resolve Partners and sponsored by Bord na Móna. It is the first accelerator of its kind in Ireland dedicated to supporting companies developing products and services based on green innovation.
Accelerate Green will help the eight business leaders identify clear pathways to scaling their novel solutions, delivering measurable impact and supporting economic development. To have been accepted onto the programme is a huge boost for Real Leaf Farm.
Real Leaf Farm is an agri-tech company developing sustainable hydroponic farms in Ireland with the first farm in Ballycon, near Mount Lucas, Daingean. Its mission is to grow fresh, pesticide-free nutritious leafy greens, 365 days a year, for the local food market using sustainable farming methods that have low environmental impact. Over time it will employ up to 20 skilled people in the Midlands for the Offaly farm.
Hyrdroponics, often called vertical farming, is the practice of growing crops with water alone in a series of trays in a completely controlled environment (temperature, humidity etc).
Welcoming the company to the Accelerate Green programme, Tom Donnellan, Chief Executive, Bord na Móna said: “Karen Hennessy and her team at Real Leaf Farm have been leading their industry in developing smart farming and advanced growing technology. As a climate solutions company Bord na Móna is determined to help other companies, like Real Leaf Farm deliver novel solutions to enable a low-carbon economy while delivering sustainable jobs. Accelerate Green is an excellent opportunity for our eight selected companies to engage with key industry partners and gain potential financial investment.”
Karen Hennessy, CEO, Real Leaf Farm said, “As a sustainable green start-up it is very important to have the support and access to the expertise that this programme will provide us with. The calibre of the companies accepted on the programme is excellent and the expertise available has already been very beneficial to my company. The ability to understand the sustainable targets that my company should be setting and tracking and understanding what it takes to get a company ready for scaling even at this early stage will be very important.”
Emphasising the commercial scalability that is at the heart of Accelerate Green, Alan Costello, Resolve Partners said; It is significant to note that as a group, the eight participating companies, currently already employ over 120 people, and have raised over €20M in funding.
"This sharpens the programme’s focus, to support these companies in becoming the next leaders in their sectors, and to inspire and signpost other startups and scaleups across Ireland towards success."
Real Leaf Farm will be joined on the Accelerate Green programme by EpiSensor, CameraMatics, Positive Carbon, Borrisoleigh Bottling Ltd, Automsoft, Go Eve and Jones Celtic Bioenergy Ltd (JCBE).
Over the course of the programme the eight companies will be brought through a series of deep learning and mentoring sessions and will engage with a broad array of speakers from enterprise and energy agencies, Irish corporates, research networks, investors, and successful business leaders. The programme will be delivered in person at a former Bord na Móna site in Boora.
The companies will also be able to avail of up to €20,000 of research funding with Irish university researchers. Following the completion of the programme the companies will participate in a leading industry conference, “Ireland Sustainable Future”, taking place in June, to coincide with the programme finish date.