A series of tunnels built 33 meters underground in London during the second world war have now become the home of hydroponic salad operator – Zero Carbon Food.
The project headed by Steven Dring and his business partner Richard Ballard, has been in the works for the past two years, enjoying support from London’s mayor, along with community support from the crowdfunding website Crowdcube, The Guardian reports.
Being 33 meters underground, the tunnels (which were initally intended to be used a bomb shelters) boast significant energy advantages when compared to their above-ground greenhouse competitors. They provide a constant temperature of 16C, and they do not suffer from weather variability, pests or low light.
The operation employs LED lights that give off a small amount of heat, lifting the temperature from 16C to 20C – the perfect growing temperature according to Dring. The electricity is currently being supplied by a renewable energy supplier, however Dring has plans to move to wind and solar in the near future.
"As much as hydroponics sounds technical, it's actually very low-tech", says Dring. "It's flooding a bench full of seeds, like growing watercress as a child. The water then ebbs back to the tanks before flooding again hours later, and so on. It's not at all energy demanding … The constant temperature down here is a reason not to do it under glass, on the surface."
At present, the operation is only occupying a small portion of one tunnel, however the company has the potential to use 2.5 hectares of growing space under the lease that they signed with Transport of London.
The project has attracted the attention of heavy weights in the restaurant industry including Michel Roux Jnr who said that he was ‘blown away’ by the quality of Zero Carbon Food’s produce.
“There's a growing demand for sustainably, locally grown produce in London," Roux told The Guardian. "I thought they were absolutely crazy but when I visited the tunnels and sampled the produce they are already growing down there I was blown away. The market for this produce is huge."
The tunnels are currently home to a wide variety of produce including pea shoots, rocket, red lion mustard, radish, tatsoi, pak choi and miniature broccoli – all of which will be sold under the brand ‘Growing Underground’ to the retail sector and well as high end restaurants.