According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the primary definition of the word vertical as an adjective is “perpendicular to the plane of the horizon or to a primary axis : upright.” However, in common American vernacular and cultural circles, the word is probably more often used as a noun to describe two extremely different things.
The first — primarily used by anyone not old enough to know what Y2K was, people with sore thumbs from scrolling social sites on their phones, and digital video or content producers and editors — describes a video format with a 9:16 aspect ratio, or portrait orientation, used for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and the like.
The second — most popular among sports-minded groups and Chicagoans — means how high off the ground someone can jump into the air.
No one’s legacy is more closely tied to this meaning of “vertical” than Michael Jeffrey Jordan or simply MJ.
A vast portion of the former NBA superstar’s wealth is from the Jordan brand — the iconic logo, which features a silhouette of Air Jordan at the peak of his vertical. While MJ and his brand might remain the most famous association with the word “vertical,” their place as the wealthiest is in serious jeopardy due to an unlikely threat: plants.
That’s right. According to a new study from Straits Research, the global vertical farming market is expected to reach nearly $60 billion by 2031. First and foremost, the “vertical” in vertical farms fits most closely with Merriam-Webster’s primary definition. The farms grow crops vertically using shelves or towers, yielding up to 350 times more crops per square yard than traditional farms. However, these operations aren’t the only way that vertically-based technologies are making a significant, sustainable impact on the world.
So, without further ado, keep reading to learn about a few ways upright-oriented innovations are being used right now to fight climate change, grow fresher food faster, and even navigate space.
Pittsburgh’s Vertical Parking Carousel
Parking carousels and structures that vertically stack cars are not technically innovations, but ones equipped with electric vehicle (EV) charging ports are. That’s exactly what’s happening in California, Florida, South Carolina, and more recently, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Startup Stak Mobility has designed automated, open-air vertical parking carousels, which it claims are the first of its kind to have added EV charging capabilities to every spot. The extremely compact structures, specifically built to fit into cities and other population-dense, available-land-lacking places, can fit up to 42 cars each.
Soil-Based Indoor Organics At Scale
Graphic Courtesy Consensus in Conversation
Soli Organic grows approximately 120,000,000 units of fresh herbs and greens every year, making it the number one grower of fresh, organic culinary herbs in the U.S. Founded more than 30 years ago as Shenandoah Growers, the Virginia company is pioneering a new wave of indoor agriculture innovation with its innovative growing systems and one-of-a-kind soil-based technology.
Matt Ryan, former head of brand management at the Walt Disney Company and chief marketing officer at Starbucks, joined the company as CEO in 2022.
Under his leadership, the company is showing new levels of scale — even launching a new 140,000-square-foot soil-based vertical farm in Texas earlier this year (which will create 100 new jobs in San Antonio).
Ryan is also a recent guest on the Consensus in Conversation podcast. Listen to the episode on all podcast platforms to hear the CEO of Soli Organic share what makes soil technology so game-changing, how the company makes nutritious and affordable organic produce for all, and much more.
Vertically Integrated Solar’s $5 Billion Future
First Solar recently conducted a study to measure the impact of the vertically integrated solar manufacturing supply chain. After calculating the company’s profits from 2016 to 2023, plus inclusions of future profits up until 2026, it is believed their solar deployments will generate around $5 billion for the U.S. economy.
The Polar Bear Capital’s Vertical Farming
Photo Courtesy Pixabay
Churchill, Manitoba, is considered the world’s polar bear capital and also one of Canada’s most sustainable agriculture towns. During seasonal winter storms, its townspeople use vertical farming and composting to avoid food insecurity (and hungry polar bears).
The below-freezing temperatures aren’t the only reason driving Churchill’s population of under 1,000 residents to this vertical growth. Access to the town is limited to trains and air, doubling the price of things like fresh produce.
Jayden Chapman, a local and sustainability coordinator at the nearby nonprofit Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC), spoke about a 2017 flood that ruined train tracks and cut the town off from access to fresh food in an interview with Modern Farmer.
“We’d get a shipment in, and it would already be black and moldy,” Chapman said. “They’d still put it on the shelf because it was our only option.”
Fortunately, Churchill and its townsfolk have worked hard to prevent such disasters from occurring. Now, it vertically produces more than 250 units of fresh greens every week.
Cows, Sheep, and Upright Solar
Rutgers University in New Jersey is leveling up its production farm, where students and faculty raise livestock like cows and sheep. Now, the university is installing a 170-kilowatt vertical solar racking system from Sunzaun, designed by Sunstall, which features 18 rows of 21 bifacial modules that generate energy from both sides. Researchers will observe how the agrivoltaic system affects the animals living on the land.
Vertically-Farmed Strawberries
Photo Courtesy Abdulhakeem Samae
California-based Plenty Unlimited is bringing its vertical farm technology to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company is teaming up with the Mawarid unit of Alpha Dhabi Holding PJSC to invest $680 million over five years to develop farms in the region, whose lack of suitable land has led it to import 85% of its food. Once it is up and running in 2026, the first farm in Abu Dhabi will produce nearly 4.5 million pounds of strawberries per year.
It doesn’t end there — Plenty Unlimited plans to open its first strawberry farm in Virginia before the end of this year.
Oh, and if you’re curious whether or not the company has secured the necessary patents for its unique growing technologies, you can give up any ideas about patent trolling. According to the company, it has more U.S. patents than every other indoor sunless grower combined.
Vertical Take-Offs In Space
NASA is providing funding through its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program for a project called Mars Aerial and Ground Global Intelligent Explorer (MAGGIE). The electric aircraft will have solar panels covering its wings and capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. The hope is for the vehicle with vertical take-off and landing capabilities to explore Mars in the next six years.
