Transforming Hydroponic Farming: A Success Story with Phoenix Contact and HITS Solutions
Sustainability project
Transforming Hydroponic Farming
A Success Story with Phoenix Contact and HITS Solutions
PROJECT GOAL
Better utilization of water resources by saving 40% of the water from the irrigation system - a goal that was significantly surpassed, achieving an actual savings of approximately 87%.
Milestones
Water consumption savings: By reducing water consumption by an impressive 86.67%, the system minimized usage from 24,000 liters to just 3,200 liters for 1,200 plants.
Vertical farming setup space: The vertical farming setup achieved remarkable space efficiency, requiring only 9.5 m²—17 times less than conventional methods.
Water Quality: HITS Solutions’ water metagenomics services ensured superior water quality, optimizing every drop used in the process.
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Egypt's Vision 2030 to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030
Transforming Hydroponic Farming: A Success Story with Phoenix Contact and HITS Solutions
In a groundbreaking advancement for hydroponic agriculture, HITS Solutions and Phoenix Contact have delivered an innovative solution that combines the power of IoT with precision automation. Leveraging Phoenix Contact’s robust PLCs and HITS Solutions’ proprietary software, the system intelligently automates irrigation and fertigation based on real-time sensor inputs. The collaboration has resulted in a smarter and more efficient farming method that sets a new benchmark for sustainable agriculture.
With everything seamlessly connected through HITS Solutions’ software, users benefited from centralized control and real-time visibility across the entire system. This case study stands as a testament to how the integration of advanced automation technology and intelligent software can revolutionize farming, showcasing what’s possible when industry leaders collaborate for a sustainable future.
An end-to-end “Precision Agriculture” solution prototype
A Technology to help transform the food production system in Egypt, reduce freshwater use, and overcome food shortages.
HOW THE IDEA WAS BORN
Egypt faces freshwater scarcity. Precision Agriculture technologies will help villagers and farmers address future food shortages and reduce freshwater use in agriculture. An end-to-end solution prototype will boost productivity, crop quality, and resource utilization, aiming to combat hunger. Given global freshwater shortages and grain market instability, there's a growing fear of increased global hunger. Phoenix Contact, with its innovative products and strong network, is developing a solution aligned with Egypt's Vision 2030 to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030, contributing to global quality of life initiatives.
WHAT WE HAVE REALIZED
The project was executed in collaboration with HITS, a local system integrator and software company focused on smart agriculture through the fusion of IoT and Bioinformatics. HITS provided the land for a “Center of Excellence” to demonstrate their “Precision Agriculture” solution. They built two greenhouses—one supporting traditional cultivation and the other designed for Hydroponics—and developed a cloud-based platform to manage and optimize the entire system. A key component of their solution is the integration of metagenomics, which involves analyzing microbial communities in the soil and environment to better understand plant health, nutrient cycles, and disease risks. This biological insight is combined with IoT sensor data to enable data-driven decisions for irrigation, fertilization, and crop management. Phoenix Contact developed EDGE boxes to monitor and control the greenhouses and implemented IT-OT integration linking these devices directly to the HITS software platform.
Sustainable cities and communities
Egypt's Vision 2030 to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030. Aiming to reduce the usage of land and water in food production.
“We are confident that Phoenix Contact can have a significant role in the mission of helping the human race fight hunger.”
