Australian tech savvy vanilla

Aussie entrepreneur David Soo (pictured) has partnered with global energy management and automation company Schneider Electric to create Australia’s first growing facility for vanilla beans—the second most valuable spice worldwide.

The Vanilla Dome in Newcastle, New South Wales, uses Schneider Electric’s Eco Struxure Food and Beverage technology solutions to replicate the delicate conditions needed to grow vanilla beans, Australian tech savvy vanilla which are normally produced in tropical regions.

The Schneider Electric automation system created a tropical climate through the opening and closing of vents, turning on misting and heating systems and managing irrigation and humidity. The vanilla plants grow on a 3D rotating trellis. By rotating and repositioning the plants daily, they grow faster and healthier.

The solution also allows for central management and critical response over a wide area network to deal with problems quickly and efficiently either at the site or remotely via a mobile device.

“Vanilla is exceptionally difficult to grow, and 80 per cent of the world’s vanilla is grown in Madagascar from a French vine called Bourbon Vanilla,” Mr Soo said.

“Pollination has to be done by hand and drying and fermenting is a long and painstaking process.

“Using Schneider Electric technology allows us to offer a solution to growing vanilla in a sustainable way. We can create a Madagascan climate in Newcastle in the middle of winter.”

Vanilla is worth more by weight than silver because of a number of factors, including vanilla bean theft, complex pollination, extreme tropical weather, the turn away from artificial vanilla and the rise of natural food.

Australia cannot produce international standard vanilla in commercial quality due to the limited tropical area, high cost of labour and the difficulties associated with producing the green beans and subsequently processing them to final product.

By initiating a future farming practice that uses available connected, smart and efficient technology can encourage farmers and manufacturers with bold ideas to digitally transform their business and sector.