October 2025 has been an exciting month for the EU-funded REGACE Project, with the project presented at two major agricultural events in Europe and beyond.
Professor Nikolaos Katsoulas from the University of Thessaly (UTH) showcased REGACE at the Innovative Agricultural Technologies (IAT) Congress 2025, which took place in Antalya, Turkey, from 15–19 October.
Professor Katsoulas, who was a keynote speaker, presented the project to an international audience of researchers, engineers, and industry professionals. He emphasized that today’s greenhouses are evolving beyond simple crop-growing structures into integrated ecosystems powered by data, automation, and circular processes.
Key developments highlighted by Professor Katsoulas included:
- Data-driven management: Using information from sensors, cameras, and soft models to make informed decisions about climate control, irrigation, fertilization, and disease management.
- Smart systems and materials: Designed to reduce energy and water use while improving control precision.
- Process coupling: Integrating agricultural production with energy generation, particularly through greenhouse photovoltaics. REGACE is playing a vital role here, enabling dual land use for both energy and crop production. By harvesting solar energy directly from greenhouse roofs, growers can lower operational costs, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
- Robotics and automation: Optimizing planting, harvesting, and crop monitoring to address labour challenges.
Professor Katsoulas highlighted that while these innovations share a common goal of sustainability and efficiency, selecting the right combination of technologies remains complex, influenced by local technical, economic, and social conditions. Collaboration between researchers, engineers, growers, and policymakers is therefore essential to ensure technology serves both productivity and environmental goals.
Shortly after, Professor Katsoulas and Professor Chrysoula Papaioannou along with the rest REGACE members of UTH team contributed to the 14th National Conference of the Hellenic Society of Agricultural Engineers (EGME), held in Volos, Greece on 21–22 October. At this national platform, the University of Thessaly delivered five oral presentations centered on the REGACE Project. The topics explored included:
- The impact of shading from rooftop photovoltaic panels on hydroponic cucumber growth and productivity.
- Effects of photovoltaic panels and carbon dioxide enrichment on greenhouse microclimates.
- Agrivoltaic systems’ influence on water stress in greenhouse crops.
- Energy consumption patterns in greenhouses equipped with PV panels.
- How PV installations inside greenhouses affect available radiation at the crop level.
The presentations demonstrated how agrivoltaics systems, like those developed under REGACE, are contributing to sustainable greenhouse operations by balancing energy production, crop growth, and resource efficiency.
With their active participation in these events, Professor Katsoulas (who is also President of EGME and EurAgEng) and UTH team not only share the advances of the REGACE Project with a wider scientific community but also foster collaboration across borders.
These engagements reinforce the project’s mission to make greenhouses more sustainable, energy-efficient, and resilient, while showcasing the potential of agrivoltaics in shaping the future of modern agriculture.
