Toyoda Gosei Co., a Toyota Motor group firm, plans to begin trial sales of strawberry cultivation facilities as early as fiscal 2026. These facilities use solar-powered generators to heat and cool without emitting greenhouse gases, enabling year-round fruit production. The initiative seeks to help growers achieve stable revenue by countering the typical summer decline in strawberry harvests.
Toyoda Gosei Co., part of the Toyota Motor group, is venturing into new areas beyond auto parts manufacturing. At its Inabe Plant in Mie Prefecture, powered by renewable energy sources, the company cultivates strawberries alongside producing hydrogen gas storage tanks for fuel-cell vehicles. Strawberries from this facility have already been supplied to a hotel in Nagoya, marking an early step in this non-manufacturing business.
The new facilities for sale include a complete set: an agricultural greenhouse, solar panels, batteries, air-conditioning systems, and LED lights. The company will also supply strawberry seedlings and soil, along with cultivation techniques to help businesses and newcomers start production easily.
Toyoda Gosei intends to collect feedback from trial sales starting in fiscal 2026 and use it to launch the business on a full scale. The summer drop in strawberry yields has long been a challenge for growers, and these zero-emission greenhouses could support more sustainable farming practices.
