A 300-square-meter smart greenhouse

Several companies are collaborating on the project at the former military site AF1. The international company Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) operates the half-megawatt data center, whose excess heat will power the 300-square-meter greenhouse. Boden Business Park and Bodens Utveckling are building the heat transfer system together with local company Ventilationsfirma IM and multinational Systemair. Luleå University of Technology and the Swedish research institute RISE are also involved.

Local entrepreneur Sture Nordmark, Nordmark AB, is responsible for the greenhouse build. He has long worked with reuse and recycling. The roughly one-meter-high foundation wall that the steel structure rests on is built from reclaimed bricks.

“I want to contribute to developing Boden as much as possible. This is something quite unique and has the potential to grow much further,” says Nordmark.

“This is just a prototype. If it succeeds, the opportunities are significant. We are really looking forward to it.”

Seven or eight years ago, Nordmark tried to run his own greenhouse in Boden, but the project failed due to high heating and electricity costs. Now, the hope is to produce goods that can be sold to shops in Boden and the wider region of Norrbotten.

“With modern LED lighting and proximity to the data center, the situation is completely different,” he explains.

The Municipality of Boden’s Employment Unit will run activities in the greenhouse through the ESF project Växtzon oändlig (“Endless Growth Zone”).

“We look forward to creating jobs here for people who may find it harder to enter the regular labor market. That’s very important,” Nordmark adds.

Through Boden Business Park, the Municipality of Boden collaborates with the Swedish Energy Agency. The aim is to promote a holistic view of energy use and support future industrial development in IT-related sectors and food production. One way forward is making use of waste heat from data centers – the smart green solution.