K-smart farms trapped in a high-cost quagmire… FIRMMIT says it will find a way forward with “water-cooled LEDs and an integrated value chain”

Smart farms have emerged as one alternative to abnormal climate events, aging, and labor shortages. Smart farms equipped with facilities costing hundreds of millions to billions of won are operating across the country, but many are facing management difficulties due to high electricity bills and the lack of sales channels for agricultural products.

According to an analysis by the Korea Rural Economic Institute of management data from 2021 to 2022 (the research report “Operational Status of Vertical Farms and Policy Tasks”), vertical farms, which must manage the entire environment—crop photosynthesis, air-conditioning systems, carbon emissions, and more—through electrical energy, were found to face farm lighting and heating costs (electricity) as their second-largest burden after labor costs.
According to the report, in the case of container-type vertical farms, farm lighting and heating costs account for about 12% of total operating costs, while building-type farms bear more than 25% of total operating costs. Accordingly, monthly electricity bills were confirmed at 330,000 won for containers (monthly operating costs of 2.83 million won) and 4.45 million won for building-type farms (monthly operating costs of 17.8 million won).

Amid this industrial environment, an agtech company is drawing attention for introducing water-cooled LEDs and lowering electricity bills to about two-thirds of those at existing facilities. The protagonist is FIRMMIT, which is growing in the global market through rigorous “field pragmatism” and an “integrated value chain.” FIRMMIT started with initial capital of 3 million won, achieved 40 billion won in sales last year, and is on the verge of reaching 50 billion won this year.

38% reduction in electricity bills with water-cooled LEDs and digital dimming control
FIRMMIT’s technology is specialized for strawberries. This is because strawberries require advanced technology across 11 stages. FIRMMIT focused on strategic technology development, taking note of characteristics such as the difficulty of imitating K-strawberry technology in the global market and high barriers to technology leakage.

Existing vertical farms struggled with commercialization due to declines in fruit firmness and insufficient yields. To overcome this, FIRMMIT introduced “water-cooled LEDs,” which solve the heat-generation problem in multi-tier structures. FIRMMIT explained that the system circulates chilled water cooled by a chiller to reduce generated heat, cutting electricity costs by 38% from 753 kWh to 467 kWh per pyeong compared with existing models.

In addition, to prevent pollinating bees from losing direction when the LEDs are turned off, the company applied fine digital dimming (brightening/dimming) technology in one-second increments to enable natural ecological pollination. FIRMMIT explains that annual production per pot increased by 150% compared with ordinary cultivation facilities, while construction costs were reduced by 50% compared with other facilities through standardized modular beds (around 5 million won per pyeong).

Their technology is being recognized domestically. At last year’s “Agri-Food Tech Startup Fair Awards” (AFPRO Awards), the company received the grand prize (Rural Development Administration Commissioner’s Award) for the highly rated innovativeness of its smart-farm cultivation solutions and energy-saving vertical farm technology. FIRMMIT has also registered a total of four patents, including a plant factory system and indoor temperature control method for “water-cooled LEDs,” an indoor hydroponic cultivation device, a smart-farm environmental information collection device, and a multi-tier plant cultivator using coco substrate.
 

From precision environmental control to B2B and B2C distribution… an integrated solution maximizing farm profitability
For buyers and farmers considering the adoption of vertical farms, the biggest barriers to entry are technology accessibility and distribution stability. The modular vertical farms recently being supplied to the field go beyond hardware installation, providing integrated solutions as an all-in-one package: in-house development and supply of strawberry varieties exclusively for vertical farms (“Tinkerbell” and “1943 FIRMMIT,” for which variety registration applications have been filed with the Korea Seed & Variety Service), dedicated nutrient solutions/fertilizers, cultivation manuals, consulting, and more, thereby overcoming these limitations.

In particular, to enhance operational convenience for farms, the systems are equipped with smart remote automatic management functions using automated ICT systems and a dedicated application. Through this, elderly farmers or novice growers can remotely monitor and automatically control the internal environment of vertical farms anytime, anywhere, without time or space constraints.

The precision of crop growth environments has also improved dramatically. Based on an integrated temperature and humidity control air-conditioning system using cold and hot water for constant/variable temperature and humidity, a precision individual irrigation supply system adjusted every 10 minutes maintains the optimal growth environment for high-income crops such as strawberries without error.

In addition, to maximize farm profitability, which is directly linked to farm survival, the post-production distribution stage has been greatly strengthened. By possessing a solid B2B/B2C distribution network (major coffee franchises, department stores, etc.) and linking with processing plants, the company maximizes the use of all grades, including not only premium fruit but also non-marketable agricultural products, thereby minimizing post-harvest losses and ensuring stable farm income.

Yeom Su-jeong, CEO of Hanjaram Farm, which adopted FIRMMIT’s greenhouse system, said, “Because farming was new to me, there were many difficulties, but FIRMMIT takes care of seedling supply, agricultural materials, cultivation education, and distribution, so I was able to reduce a great deal of worry and burden.”
 

Construction of the “World FIRMMIT Strawberry Center”… target of 200 billion won in global sales
FIRMMIT is leaping beyond production into a global business platform. It is building the “World FIRMMIT Strawberry Center” with a total investment of 30 billion won on a 15,000-pyeong (50,000㎡) site in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province. Scheduled for completion at the end of 2027, the site is expected to operate as an export exhibition hall for overseas buyers, a training center for young farmers in connection with Kongju National University and others, and a social farming model employing 30 to 40 people with disabilities.

Overseas expansion is also active. In cooperation with Uzbekistan’s state-owned company “Agrostar,” it is remodeling 700 hectares of neglected greenhouses, and it is exporting mobile vertical farm modules to Singapore. Overseas, only the execution app is provided locally, while core control and data analysis are managed by the cloud at the Korean headquarters to prevent technology leakage.

CEO Park Sun-ki said, “In the short term, we are focusing on increasing the company’s operating profit margin, and we are preparing for organizational stabilization and a jump-up.” He also expressed his ambition, saying, “We will establish South Korea’s smart-farm technology as a global standard while making Korean strawberries available to eat anywhere in the world.”