Comparative life cycle assessment of FarmBot technology with conventional and organic agriculture

The dependence of agriculture on non-renewable resources and the increasing environmental pollution caused by the intensification of agriculture illustrate the need for innovative solutions in order to be able to sustainably meet the increasing demand for food due to a growing world population. An alternative to conventional cultivation practices is FarmBot, an electrically operated robot for fully automated vegetable growing. A life cycle assessment with the openLCA software is carried out to answer the question, whether it is possible to reduce the ecological damage of vegetable production by using the FarmBot, in comparison to organic and conventional agriculture. Exemplary the cultivation of carrots (Daucus carota), onions (Allium cepa) and beetroots (Beta vulgaris) is modelled, the functional unit is 1 kg of vegetables. For the production of 1 kg vegetables, FarmBot has a cumulative energy demand of 4.4-7.1 MJ, a global warming potential of 0.26-0.42 kg CO2-eq, an eutrophication potential of 1.4-2.2 g NO3-eq and an acidification potential of 12.5-20 g SO2-eq. These results show that at the current technology readiness level the values of FarmBot are many times higher for all impact categories used, in comparison to organic and conventional agriculture (by a factor of 6-9 for cumulative energy demand and global warming potential, by a factor of 8-18 for eutrophication potential and by a factor of 4-6 for acidification potential). These high values are caused by the high-power consumption of FarmBot. However, the modelling of different scenarios shows huge optimizing potential. By operating FarmBot with 100 % renewable energy in an energy-saving mode and furthermore a substitution of aluminium rails with steel wire ropes, cumulative energy demand can be reduced by 66 % and global warming potential can be reduced by 83 %. Thereby, FarmBot reaches 0.045 kg CO2-eq for the global warming potential, which is almost equivalent to the value of conventional and organic farming with 0.040 and 0.042 kg CO2-eq. Based on the findings from this study, it is recommended that LCA to an instrument for accompanying the development of new technologies. Comparing different scenarios can help identify the main drivers of environmental damage caused by the manufacture or use of a technology. This knowledge can be used to replace or reduce environmentally harmful materials and can lead to a better energy efficiency of the product. The results of a LCA can be used for marketing, contribute to lower production costs, or help to meet environmental regulations.