Clusters driving innovation in controlled environment agriculture
This article follows the "Collaborative Ecosystems" session at the URBAGR’INN Days, where leading voices from European clusters shared strategies, ambitions and concrete actions that foster innovation in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). From the Dutch Greenport model to Wallonia’s agri-food cluster and EU-funded projects like RE-Greenhouse and SUAVE, these interventions illustrate the power of cooperation across sectors to address pressing challenges and create sustainable food systems.
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Supporting regional growth: Wagralim in Wallonia
Jean-Christophe Chapelle presented Wagralim, Wallonia’s agri-food innovation cluster. Wagralim accelerates added value creation in agro-industrial companies through innovation, partnerships, and internationalisation. It supports collaborative projects involving R&D, investment, training, and export development.
Wagralim plays a central role in linking actors across the value chain, facilitating synergy between companies, research centres, and public authorities. It thus helps translate research into concrete innovations, supporting both SMEs and larger enterprises in Wallonia’s food and agriculture ecosystem.
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Renewable energy for greenhouses: RE-Greenhouse project
Robert Bergenhenegouwen highlighted the RE-Greenhouse project, a North-West Europe Interreg initiative that demonstrates the value of cross-border collaboration in renewable energy for Controlled Environment Agriculture.
GPWH, together with other clusters, applied research institutions, universities, and growers, is designing a decision-support tool to help greenhouse operators select optimal energy configurations. The project builds on the Heath Grid Westland pilot and Living Labs like Broekpolder, where greenhouses already use heat from renewable sources.
Clusters like GPWH—where the whole ecosystem is represented—are uniquely positioned to lead in such integrative projects. Their strengths lie in thematic expertise, governance, cross-sector collaboration, and the ability to manage complex, interdisciplinary programmes.
Challenges: From Fragmentation to Integration
Despite these strengths, Monika Onyszkiewicz candidly addressed the risks and barriers Wrocław faces: most notably, a lack of shared vision and weak coordination among local authorities. This fragmentation leads to missed opportunities for synergy, and limited trust between actors.
“In WrocÅ‚aw, we shaped the city—but now it shapes us,” noted Monika Onyszkiewicz, quoting Jan Gehl to emphasize how urban design and governance habits can lock us into patterns of disconnection. Poor infrastructure often leads to poor habits, reinforcing the status quo rather than enabling transformation.
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Strengthening urban agriculture: The SUAVE EuroCluster
Claudia Ramos de Oliveira presented the SUAVE EuroCluster project, aimed at supporting SMEs in Urban Agriculture (UA). SUAVE fosters innovation, internationalisation, and capacity-building for SMEs, while promoting long-term sustainability in the UA ecosystem. Through tailored support, knowledge-sharing, and partnership agreements, SUAVE strengthens both individual SMEs and cluster networks across Europe.
The project developed a sustainability strategy to extend its impacts beyond the initial funding period (2025–2026), focusing on continued cooperation with clusters, regional authorities, and European institutions. Its impact assessment—based on deliverables, stakeholder feedback, and work package evaluations—shows strong results in ecosystem development and SME empowerment.
A shared vision: Feeding and greening megacities
All four interventions underline the importance of integrated cluster approaches for addressing global and regional challenges—feeding a growing urban population, ensuring food safety, reducing resource use, and achieving climate neutrality. Whether through regional clusters like Wagralim and GPWH, or European collaboration through Interreg and SUAVE, the shared ambition is clear: build resilient, sustainable and innovative agri-food ecosystems through collaborative action.
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