Smart agriculture research centre seeks to address food security challenges
A new state-of-the-art smart agriculture research centre will drive pioneering research and education with a focus on smart farming and sustainable food production.
By Dave Rogers | Published on 16 September 2026
Categories: Press office; Research; School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences;
The modular facility, created at Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst Campus, houses a fully-controlled growth environment bringing together the latest technologies and innovation in smart farming and plant science.
It also features a biochemical analysis suite to understand crop variations at molecular detail.
With the global population increasing, arable land shrinking and a changing climate, innovative technological practices are essential to ensure food security and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture.
The new facilities will allow scientists to harness cutting-edge methods to assess how we can best provide nutritious and fast-growing fresh food without the need for favourable weather, fertile soil, lots of water or high-running costs.
Optimum growth conditions utilising customised combinations of LED lighting and nutrients support the needs of a wide range of crops, from microgreens to larger leafy greens and fruiting plants.
The facility incorporates hydroponic and aeroponic growing systems, delivering different recipes of nutrient-rich solutions directly to plant roots which are suspended mid-air.
Artificial intelligence will process environmental and growth data to extract the key features driving individual crop performance and provide a deeper understanding of specific plant and crop requirements.
As well as three large growing spaces and individual environmental chambers for contained experiments, the facility also includes an analysis area for molecular plant science.
Advanced imaging techniques will allow researchers to measure and monitor plant morphology, growth rates and health metrics under varying environmental conditions.
The facility, led from NTU’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, will support a range of diverse and interdisciplinary research projects, and help drive commercial research and partnerships in the agri-tech sector.
It will also be used to support teaching and delivery of the university’s postgraduate course in smart agriculture.
The £1.5m facility has been made possible as part of a capital funding grant from the Office for Students.
Inside the Smart Agriculture Research Centre (Image: Light Science Technologies)
“This facility will enable NTU to consolidate its position as a national centre of excellence in controlled environment agriculture,” said Professor Andy Gill, the Associate Dean for Research in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.
He said: “It will address key questions and challenges around global food security and climate resilience while helping us to expand our research into crop optimisation, plant physiology and agri-tech innovation.
“It will also serve as an important platform for industry collaboration and student engagement.”
Professor Richard Emes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and International at Nottingham Trent University, said: “This investment from the Office for Students further recognises the expertise and exceptional collaborative research happening at NTU. The facilities will accelerate discovery and serve as a testbed for the University and industrial partners to partner and develop solutions that improve food production and security.”
UK company Light Science Technologies was awarded the contract for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the facility, along with continued maintenance.
Molecular profiling technology will be supplied by Waters Corporation, and includes a range of equipment to make available various discovery and targeted quantitation analysis workflows.
Industry partners keen to learn more about the facilities and to explore opportunities to collaborate are invited to contact andy.gill@ntu.ac.uk for more information.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Dave Rogers, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8782, or via email.
About Nottingham Trent University:
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
Students have voted us first in the UK for course quality, top five in the UK for employability and third best University in the UK (Uni Compare 2027). We are ranked in the top 25 universities in the country (The Guardian University Guide 2026).
We have over 35,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of over 5,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2025) and was named as Sports University of the Year (Daily Mail University Guide 2025).
NTU is a holder of the University Mental Health Charter, recognising the commitment an institution has shown towards continuous improvement in the area of mental health and wellbeing.
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and third in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2025).