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home / news / aurora to construct advanced cannabis production facility in alberta
Aurora Cannabis announces that it has completed the design, engineering and tender process for the construction of the first phase of a 600,000 sq. ft. fully automated greenhouse to be built in Alberta, Canada.
Aurora has engaged veteran project developer, Thomas Larssen Greenhouse Engineers, and has finalized a number of contracts with global leaders in greenhouse technologies. The company is working with renowned Dutch greenhouse builder, KUBO, and system and component providers Verkade, PDI, PB Tech, Codema, and Priva.
Measuring over 10 times the size of a Canadian football field, the expansion project consists of three 200,000 sq. ft. phases. This facility is believed to be the world’s largest and only purpose-built greenhouse, designed specifically for the production of medical-grade cannabis. Upon completion of all three phases, the facility will have an estimated annual production capacity of over 70,000 kg of cannabis.
The new facility is expected to be operational by the summer of 2017. The project will be completed and in production by the summer of 2018. This greenhouse expansion project exemplifies the culmination of Dutch greenhouse technology and design philosophy, and is poised to deliver more combined automation, efficiency, good manufacturing practices and sustainability features under one roof than any other existing greenhouse in the world.
The cultivation design features include: advanced double anti-reflective self-cleaning glass with snow melting systems, condensate recovery; diffusion technologies for increased light penetration and shadow elimination for superior whole plant health and yield; forced-air, over-pressurized, and fully sealed structure to minimize disease pressures and provide precision climate control. Post-processing boasts minimal handling of flowers and superior, specialized environments to optimize the drying and curing process.
The new facility integrates full traceability and automation through every stage of the production cycle, wherever possible, including: conveyers and robotically controlled grow benches and plant spacing; a proprietary component-based irrigation system designed to provide highly optimized cultivar-specific nutrient recipes; remote plant monitoring from the moment vegetative growth begins through to harvest; trimming, curing, extraction, packaging and labeling systems designed for maximum production efficiency and quality control.
Thomas Larssen, President of Larssen Engineering, commented. “We are excited to be part of the team delivering Aurora’s newest world-class cannabis production facility. The facility will truly be state-of-the-art. When finished, this facility will set the standard for what is possible by implementing the latest and most advanced growing technologies, as every phase of the cultivation process has been studied with respect to what technologies are available.”
“We are very proud to be in partnership with Larssen Ltd. to deliver significant additional capacity for the pending adult usage market,” said Terry Booth, CEO. “The Canadian cannabis market is expected to experience a phenomenal increase in demand. Upon completion of this facility, Aurora will be prepared for this demand.”
Booth continued, “This project is the realization of our vision for the future of cannabis production. We have been working with our partners for a considerable amount of time to get all the details right, and believe that with this unique combination of automation and cannabis production technologies, we will be raising the Aurora Standard even higher in terms of sustainability, cannabis product quality, production consistency and production costs.”
For more information:
www.auroramj.com
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