CeraPhi Energy is marking Norfolk Day by opening talks with landowners and farmers about creating a sustainable Norfolk food production revolution by geothermal technology while creating new jobs, impacting the local economy, cleaning up the planet and making life better for everyone.
Norfolk as a thriving all-year-round independent sustainable food hub growing a wide variety of vegetables and fruit in greenhouses ‘villages’ warmed by heat drawn from deep underground using gamechanging geothermal technology is a very real prospect.
Geothermal solutions transformed the Netherlands into a leader in efficient and sustainable agriculture and the second-largest exporter of agricultural goods in the world.
Within just six years of tapping into deep heat from beneath their feet, the Dutch were exporting $111 billion worth of agricultural goods, including $10 billion of flowers and $7.4 billion of vegetables and switched from net importer to net exporter within a decade.
Simple deep geothermal technology is heating hundreds of hectares of greenhouses to grow stacked agriculture for 12 months of the year without interruption
Norfolk’s fortunes could follow the nation that is as close to Norfolk as it is to London by using the clean and plentiful primary source of underground heat.
In Norfolk, a region of generations of farmers and landowners, why are we not producing all our own produce?
We can be more self sufficient as a nation, and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time, supporting our economy by creating new jobs and more produce, and contribute to the UK’s journey to Net Zero.
Agriculture and food processing doesn’t generally need very high temperatures so there is huge potential in Norfolk, especially in North Norfolk where the below ground temperature gradients are good.
The mission at CeraPhi Energy is to apply proprietary technology developed in our Great Yarmouth head office by our highly experienced and dedicated team to partner with farmers to revolutionise food production in Norfolk while decarbonising operations, dramatically expanding the crop variety grown here while cutting our region’s carbon footprint, creating jobs and boosting the county’s economy in the process.
Why are there pineapples from South Africa and avocados from Mexico in our shops when we could be growing them ourselves? Why are we flying in tomatoes? We could be growing Norfolk strawberries and watermelons, the best fruit you can grow per hectare - three cycles a year means a harvest of 40,000 kg a year that could sell for £2.99 a kilo bringing in £120,000 a year - 12 months of the year.
Using heat as energy in its primary form, instead of using boilers to burn a fuel and generate that heat, could achieve all the above, and more. And by using the heat beneath our feet there is no fuel source to extract or store, so the day-to-day running costs are negligible.
Geothermal energy is known mostly for power generation and district heating (CeraPhi Energy does all that too), but it can also be used in its primary form, heat, in the agri-food sector for greenhouses or for food drying and processing.
Systems can also heat surrounding communities by putting excess heat into a district heat network.
Our ‘cascade’ illustrates how it can be used for heating, drying, and cooling. Our technology could also use heat to desalinate water used in agriculture.
Results speak for themselves – increased food availability, less dependence on fossil fuels, protection against price volatility and cutting harmful emissions while significantly cutting food waste.
We are marking Norfolk Day by opening talks with landowners and farmers to partner us for changes in Norfolk food production that could lead a sustainable agricultural revolution while creating new jobs, impacting the local economy, cleaning up the planet and making life better for everyone.
Farmers and landowners interested in finding out more should contact Gary Williams at gary.williams@ceraphi.com +44 (0)7771 882064