Inari triples Belgian R&D capacity with new Ghent greenhouse

Inari has opened a 2,000-square-metre (about 21,500 square feet) controlled-environment greenhouse complex in Ghent, Belgium, tripling the company’s indoor plant-growth capacity in Europe and accelerating its push to commercialize gene-edited field crops.

The facility contains several greenhouse compartments and walk-in growth chambers equipped with energy-efficient LED lighting, adaptive shading and closed-loop water recycling. Inari said the investment will shorten product-development cycles by letting researchers test genetic edits under precisely calibrated conditions.

“This investment reflects Inari’s commitment to Europe and highlights our confidence in the exceptional talent of our Ghent team,” said Fred Van Ex, who leads the company’s Europe, Africa and Middle East operations. He added that the expansion positions Inari to move quickly once the European Union finalizes legislation on “new genomic techniques,” a proposal expected to clear the European Parliament later this year that would ease market approval for crops altered without introducing foreign DNA.

Inari’s Seedesign platform combines artificial-intelligence modelling with multiplex gene editing to develop higher-yielding traits in soybeans, corn and wheat. Founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2016, the Cambridge, Mass., company employs more than 300 people across sites in the United States and Belgium.