Italian diver and gardener Sergio Gamberini decided to see if he could grow vegetables in a plastic balloon underwater. The experiment was a success—so he decided to dive deeper into the world of underwater agriculture.
Today, Gamberini is the founder of a company using "biospheres" off the coast of Italy to grow a variety of plants, introducing the world to a new type of agriculture. The company's six "biospheres" are air-filled plastic balloons about two meters wide. Each is fixed to the seabed by chains so that it sits between 15and 36 feet below sea level. The biospheres are equipped with cameras and sensors that allow researchers in the company to monitor CO2levels, humidity, temperature, and more from a control tower on the shoreline. There's also a device to communicate with divers in the biospheres.
Solar panels (太阳能电池板) on the roof of the control tower power the fans that create airflow inside the biospheres, and because the temperature inside and outside the biospheres is consistent, there's no need to expend energy on the heating or cooling systems needed for traditional greenhouses.
The underwater garden doesn't require pesticides (杀虫剂) since bugs can't reach the plants, and though more research is needed, the company notes on its website that the higher-pressure conditions underwater appear to help plants grow more quickly.
The company is now ready to shift from the research phase of development to optimizing (优化) its biospheres for industrialization, with the goal of expanding them off coastlines around the world. To achieve the aim, the startup is now taking advantage of "digital twin" technology to precisely simulate (模仿) every aspect of its underwater garden.
Even with all the optimization potential offered by technology, Gamberini admits it's hard to imagine the produce grown in his startup's biospheres ever competing financially with traditionally grown crops. Still, he hopes the system's sustainability will be enough to draw customers.
