AVF recently caught up with our new member Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBW M) to learn more about their current Research Program.
Who is The Universität der Bundeswehr München?
The Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBW M) is a federal university focused on applied and interdisciplinary research, accompanied by knowledge and technology transfer. The activities carried out at the Professorship of Development Economics and Policy encompass questions in agricultural, food and resource economics, public policy and development economics.
What is your technology, and who is it for?
As a research university, UniBW M does not develop its own commercial technologies. Our main “technology” is the socio-economic analysis and decision support we provide for new agricultural production systems of different scales, especially vertical farming systems.
Concretely, we develop and apply various true cost accounting frameworks and business viability models to analyse these technologies. We also examine the policy and regulatory environment to understand how policy frameworks support or hinder their development and adoption. The use of empirical quantitative methods (e.g., cost/benefit analysis, adoption surveys) and stakeholder engagement formats (e.g., focus groups, expert interviews) is central to our research.
Within the LIFE project in which we participate, a novel nutrient solution derived from livestock manure is being developed by our partners. The nutrient solution is developed from livestock manure, creating a circular economy model to build bridges with a sub-sector within agriculture that contributes significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Our role is to assess the economic, social and regulatory implications of introducing such circular nutrient solutions into vertical and hydroponic farming systems.
The insights generated from our activities are designed for:
- Vertical farming enterprises and entrepreneurs
- Technology developers and system integrators
- Policymakers and regulators in agriculture, environment and food safety
- Researchers, and
- Investors, funding agencies and development organisations who need robust evidence on the risks and returns of agricultural technologies.
What is unique about your product and approach?
Our approach takes a holistic perspective: we move beyond classical socio-economic or market analysis to include social and environmental externalities (e.g., emissions, resource use, waste reduction) in our estimations. This gives a more realistic picture of how circular fertiliser solutions can contribute to improving sustainability.
The business models we develop are linked explicitly to EU and national fertiliser regulations, monitoring requirements and relevant EU funding instruments. To do this, we combine quantitative analysis (e.g., cost–benefit analysis, adoption surveys) with qualitative engagement (focus groups, expert interviews, producer–policy dialogues) to capture practical constraints and social acceptance.
Furthermore, our team brings long-term experience from projects on aquaponics, hydroponics and climate-smart agriculture in Europe and Africa, which helps us benchmark new vertical farming concepts against real-world cases.
What is the potential of your technology going forward?
Within LIFE, the novel nutrient solution derived from livestock manure can be introduced into vertical farming systems either as a finished product or via production protocols. These protocols could also be adapted to other circular nutrient streams, such as poultry waste. UniBW M’s contribution is to create the socio-economic evidence that supports or challenges such pathways.
Our analytical framework can be replicated and scaled for different controlled environment agricultural systems. It can be used to:
- Generate benchmarks and scenarios that de-risk investments,
- Inform subsidy schemes and green-finance instruments to improve CEA revenue streams and business viability,
- Provide a data-driven basis for future EU and national regulations on organic and waste-based fertilisers in vertical farming systems,
- Over time, this can help make vertical farming with circular nutrient solutions economically viable, socially accepted and policy-aligned, rather than a niche experiment.
What are your goals for the future?
We aim to build a robust evidence base on the economic, social, and environmental performance of manure-based fertilisers in vertical and hydroponic farms across the EU, and to develop standardised assessment tools that practitioners can use for their own business planning and impact reporting.
What are you looking for in the vertical farming space (e.g., types of collaborators)?
Vertical farming entrepreneurs, both start-ups and established companies, willing to participate in surveys and choice experiments to share their opinions on circular economy models in vertical farming systems.
Policy makers and regulators to gather their opinions on circular economy principles in vertical farming, interpret findings and translate them into regulation, guidelines, or incentive schemes.
Academic and research partners who want to integrate socio-economic analysis into their vertical farming pilots or projects.
Investors, funds, and development agencies looking for rigorous ex ante and ex post assessments of vertical farming project viability and impact.
Technology developers who need independent assessments of the economic feasibility and user acceptance of their systems.
