Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya moved to France after working at Northvolt for ten months, but he had grown so fond of Skellefteå that he moved back to start a business. “I hope even more people see the potential in Skellefteå and that more talented people move here,” he says.
Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya, originally from India, moved to Skellefteå in 2022 to work at Northvolt. Before that, he had studied in Germany and on Gotland, and was a bit hesitant about moving so far north.
– I didn’t really know much about Skellefteå, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was an incredibly welcoming town, he says.
However, his time in northern Sweden nearly came to an end. After just ten months at the battery factory, he left the country and moved to France – but quickly realised he missed the coastal Västerbotten town.
– I feel that Skellefteå is my home now. The people here are amazing, he says.
Back in Sweden, Abhijith has launched Hydro Space Sweden AB. In the company’s business description, he mentions that they will, among other things, conduct “research in space agriculture.”
Exactly what that means will come later, but first we learn more about the company’s main focus.
– When I moved to Skellefteå, I realised that the food we eat here comes from so many different places around the world. The carbon footprint from all the transport is just crazy, says Abhijith, who wants to reduce dependence on imports by growing more produce locally in Skellefteå.
And not in a greenhouse, but in warehouse spaces with artificial lighting. The concept is called “hydroponic farming,” which means growing in water mixed with various nutrients, completely without soil.
– We have a very limited growing season in northern Sweden because of the climate. With hydroponic farming, I can grow 365 days a year in a controlled environment, and in that way offer fresh food all year round.
Abhijith’s basement in Ursviken: Here, he has grown lettuce and microgreens.
Abhijith's new business aims to cultivate, on a much larger scale, the types of products he has successfully grown at home. "The goal is for produce consumed in northern Sweden to be grown here, all year round," he says.
Abhijith’s interest in this type of farming was sparked during his time on Gotland, where he studied sustainable entrepreneurship. There, he connected with an organic farm that was using this very method, and later wrote his master’s thesis on the subject.
– Since then, I’ve grown nearly 30 different crops, berries and vegetables using this technique, he says, proudly showing photos on his phone.
Abhijith is starting by growing microgreens in his new business, but he has also grown cucumbers, tomatoes, and many other things hydroponically. In the near future, he also plans to grow strawberries. “That way you can get fresh strawberries grown in Skellefteå even in winter,” he says.
The idea now is to do exactly this, but on a much larger scale. In a 200-square-metre warehouse in Hedensbyn, he plans to grow 10,000 heads of lettuce per month.
– And that’s just the beginning. In the future, I want to scale up even more – maybe use 10,000 square metres and grow more of what’s consumed in northern Sweden, to eliminate the carbon footprint from transport.
Does this require a lot of electricity?
– No, not necessarily. I’ll be using LED lights, so it’s barely anything compared to the alternative of transporting food here. Plus, the electricity is both green and cheap
He aims to sell his products in retail stores and also to restaurants that use these types of ingredients.
– Initially, it will mostly be microgreens because there's a large market and good profit margins. But then we will also grow strawberries, other fruits, lettuce, and various herbs.
A future project also involves attempting to cultivate cloudberries, even though this has reportedly never been successfully done before.
– I know it’s a challenge, but perhaps it's possible to experiment in a controlled environment? If I don’t try, we’ll never know.
Microgreens are sprout-like plants that are harvested early. They have become very popular because they are said to contain more nutrients than fully grown vegetables.
And then there’s space farming. Abhijith says he has been inspired by a team from Brazil working on exactly that.
– Space exploration is expected to expand dramatically over the next ten years, and the biggest challenge for these projects is food. If you have to bring everything from Earth, the costs in money and energy would be prohibitive, he says.
Even transporting equipment for hydroponic farming would be too demanding, according to Abhijith, who therefore plans to build a 3D printer that can use materials from, for example, the Moon and Mars to manufacture hydroponic units on site. He has been in contact with the European Space Agency, ESA, which has been very encouraging.
– They were very interested and supportive, and I hope to secure funding from them to develop this, says Abhijith.
Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya, 30.
Exactly what will come of all this in the future, he doesn’t know yet — it’s still in an early stage — but there’s no doubt about the ambitions.
– In three years, I hope to be able to show that this technology can be 3D-printed and attract investment from organisations like NASA, Blue Origin and SpaceX, says Abhijith, who remains hopeful.
– There’s still a long way to go, but I’m optimistic that we can succeed with the right team.