Controlled Environment Agriculture has the potential to achieve food security and lower carbon emissions in Agri-food systems
NTU Food Research Systems (NTU‑FRS) congratulates Prof S Viswanathan on a new publication in Nature Communications.
The paper, “Contextual Conditions Define Maximum Energy-use Threshold in Low-Carbon Controlled Environment Agriculture for Agri-Food Transformation”, introduces a Maximum Energy‑use Threshold (MET) to determine when controlled‑environment agriculture (CEA) can operate as a low‑carbon food production option.
The research demonstrates that the carbon benefits of CEA depend strongly on what crops are grown, where they are sited, and the energy conditions of production. It finds that low‑carbon CEA is most viable for leafy greens in land‑locked countries with clean electricity grids or when replacing air‑freighted perishable produce. The study also highlights that energy optimisation remains critical, even under future low‑carbon energy scenarios.
S. Ng, O. Hinrichsen, and S. Viswanathan, (2026) “Contextual Conditions Define Maximum Energy-use Threshold in Low-Carbon Controlled Environment Agriculture for Agri-Food Transformation”, Nature Communications, 17-880, 1-13,
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