GSS GROUP LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.119999999999999

Description

Despite a growing demand hydroponic production methodologies are still relatively new andpose financial risks for the small to mid-size farms struggling to become profitable enterprises.Hydroponic farm equipment such as controlled environment agriculture (CEA) greenhouses andhydroponic systems are very expensive. For example the foundation structure and installationcosts for a standard gutter-connected CEA greenhouse (50'Wx100'Lx10'H) is $20/sq.ft. or$100000 total. The majority of hydroponic producers grow crops (especially leafy greens) withNutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Deep-Water-Culture (DWC) types. The major disadvantageof these systems is the inevitable "dead-space" or unusable production space created along theside-walls and connection bays of CEA greenhouses. Instead of spending an average of $100000to construct an additional greenhouse or bay the farm operation can spend less than $14700 toincrease plant sites by 12% and annual revenues by around $11000 ($367.9 million in additionaldomestic leafy green sales).Phase II efforts will culminate in a low-cost hydroponic tower system designed for small andmid-sized hydroponic farmers looking to scale-up production with minimal investment. GSSGroup's patent-pending Cascading Water Disbursement Tower or CWDT a hydroponicapparatus is unlike other vertical hydroponic tower systems in its ability to add value to existingfarm operations and balance up-front investment against long-term operating costs to achieve thebest overall value .The CWDT technology was designed to be an efficient tool to maximizeproduction capacity for existing hydroponic producers of various lettuces herbs andstrawberries. The design uses the same irrigation methods as NFT systems to reduce time spenton installation/ integration. In addition the vertical hydroponic tower is "stack-able" to allowgrowers the ability to custom fit the towers to their current operations. The CWDT offers animproved alternative to competitor vertical hydroponic towers marketed today. Most verticalhydroponic towers today are bulky heavy and are composed of multiple components that mustbe cleaned after each harvest cycle (every 14-30 days).Phase II objectives will focus on researching and testing a prototype of each CWDT system'scomponents to create a final-stage-prototype of the CWDT Stack-Unit irrigation/drainage andmounting frame. The commercial end-product will be inexpensive to produce/ ship and saveusers 30% of time spent on daily system maintenance tasks (transplanting harvesting &cleaning).