The leafy hydroponics market is growing. But the more producers enter the sector, the sharper the question becomes: which systems, varieties, and technologies are truly optimal? The answer was decided to be found scientifically — and in 2026, the Leafy Hydroponics Consortium launched in Belgium.
What this structure is
The consortium is organised by Dutch company Cultivators together with Belgium’s Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt (PSKW) — one of Europe’s leading applied research centres for horticulture. The format is a two-year intensive research programme with the option to extend.
Partners are exclusively industry leaders: seed companies Rijk Zwaan and Enza Zaden, growing systems manufacturer Hortiplan, LED specialist Signify, substrate giant Grodan, and Ellepot. Several dozen supporting partners cover everything from automation to climate systems.
What is being researched in 2026
First crop trials launched in early 2026: direct seeding systems and gutter systems with sleeves are being compared head-to-head. In parallel, a large-scale upgrade of research greenhouses is under way to create one of the most technologically advanced hydroponic leafy compartments in Europe.
The goal is to give producers scientifically backed answers to practical questions: what yield, what quality, what system reliability, and what operational efficiency in real commercial conditions.
Why this matters for producers outside Belgium
Results will be presented at GreenTech Amsterdam and the Leafy Hydroponics Summit in June 2026 — meaning they will be publicly available to the entire industry. This is rare: usually such research stays locked inside companies. For producers in Poland, Czech Republic, and Ukraine, it is a chance to access verified data without bearing their own R&D costs.
What a Ukrainian producer can take from this
Hydroponic growing of leafy lettuce and spinach in Ukraine is a niche that is only just forming. Data from consortiums like this is the best starting point for anyone choosing a system and varieties for their first project. Follow GreenTech Amsterdam publications in summer 2026.
