Revol Greens has raised another $68 million to build its third greenhouse location in Texas, marking its third expansion in two years.
The Owatonna, Minn.-based company’s growth plans highlight rising demand for produce grown in climate-controlled environments that are closer to consumers.
The latest funding round — led by Equilibrium Capital, which focuses on businesses providing sustainable water and food solutions — brings Revol’s total fundraising to $215 million.
At 20 acres with room to expand another 60, the new Texas facility will be the largest lettuce greenhouse in the world. Revol Greens is in the midst of converting an old 16-acre tomato and green pepper greenhouse to one for baby lettuces in Tehachapi, Calif.
That location has room to expand to 64 acres and is set to be open next year. Earlier this year the company expanded its original greenhouse in Owatonna from two to 10 acres.
Revol has plans for two more greenhouses.
Indoor agriculture is growing nationally and has a special appeal in the Upper Midwest where harsh winters prevent fresh, local produce from being available for much of the year. There are several methods for growing lettuces and vegetables indoors, including aquaponics, hydroponics and aeroponics.
Revol Greens uses a closed-loop hydroponics system. Rainwater and snow melt from its greenhouse roof are captured then stored in a enclosed, on-site holding pond. Workers test the water daily and treat it with a chemical-free UV sterilization process to ensure it’s free of harmful bacteria.
The company says its facilities use 90% less water than traditional field-grown greens.
“Revol has spent three years bundling technology, applications, recipes and data in a Minnesota climate where temperature and humidity reach extremes,” Mark Schulze, chief executive of Revol Greens, said in a statement. “We are confident that we can deploy our technology anywhere on the planet.”
With the recent outbreaks of E.coli in outdoor-grown fields across Arizona and California, proponents of indoor agriculture say their climate-controlled facilities are also safer.
“High-tech greenhouses give us the ability to return to regional food systems with farms that produce our food near our communities,” David Chen, chief executive of Equilibrium, said in a statement. “Regionalism gives us resiliency, food security, and addresses the threat of climate change to our food system.”
Revol Greens was founded in 2016 by Jay Johnson, who also started Owatonna-based Bushel Boy, which grows tomatoes in enclosed greenhouses. Bushel Boy has also expanded in recent years both in Owatonna and in Mason City, Iowa.