The desire to simplify and find new ways to bring more greenery to buildings and cities motivated agricultural engineer Sérgio Rocha to create Kaatop, a hydroponic roof tile designed for cultivating various plant species. The inspiration for the tile came from his professional experience developing green roofs and suspended gardens. Working in the field for over a decade, Rocha noticed that existing market systems and techniques struggled to gain traction in construction projects.
“If you look at a satellite image of any urban center, you will notice that most of the built environment is taken up by roofs—so we cannot think about changing the climate without changing roofs,” says Rocha. “People worry about damage to waterproofing, excess weight, and drainage failures. That is why we decided to simplify the interface between the base roof and the green roof, turning them into a single, integrated product that is ready to install and plant,” he adds.
What Kaatop Is and How It Works
The hydroponic roof tile allows food to be grown directly on the roof without the need to install gardens over an existing structure. It enables the cultivation of up to 20 ornamental or agricultural seedlings per square meter.
Developed using biomimicry principles—which look to nature for solutions—Kaatop is essentially a sandwich panel tile with openings for seedlings and an internal system that accommodates drip hoses, distributing water internally through capillary action.
Furthermore, the irrigation water in the hydroponic system can be recirculated without losing nutrients to the environment. Even when the irrigation is turned off, the product's design enables water droplets to condense from air humidity, generating small amounts of water and reducing the system's overall water consumption.
Installing the product requires no specialized resources. The dimensions and weight of Kaatop are similar to conventional ceramic roof tiles, requiring only standard wood framing or a metal structure for support. The tile itself can be used as a green roof for hardy plant species, which do not require irrigation. However, if the goal is agricultural production or high-performance landscaping, an irrigation, collection, and recirculation system for hydroponic cultivation is necessary.
Completed Projects
The hydroponic roof tile is highly versatile. In addition to its use in landscaping (with ornamental plants) and urban agriculture (with crops such as wheat, rice, beans, and oats), Rocha virtually eliminated his spending on fresh vegetables during the pandemic. This was achieved using only a small cultivation panel with three tiles (measuring 3 square meters / 32 square feet), which yielded a continuous harvest of lettuce, arugula, chicory, green onions, peppers, parsley, zucchini, eggplant, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, and dandelion greens.
Kaatop tiles have also been used in a 175-square-meter (1,880-square-foot) vertical garden—which featured a mix of ground cover and tropical ornamental species—as well as a 60-square-meter (645-square-foot) green roof dedicated to rice cultivation.
Coming Soon to the Market
Since the product’s launch in 2019 and the start of production in March 2020, Kaatop has seen a wave of interest. However, subsequent lockdowns and supply chain disruptions affected deliveries, prompting the company to redesign its entire supply chain. “We had to reinvent the product to ensure reliable delivery and greater scalability,” says the agricultural engineer.
In 2021, the startup attracted interest from major industry investors and is currently scaling up production for commercial distribution. Kaatop will initially operate from a factory in the state of São Paulo, with plans already underway to expand to Barcelona, Spain.
“The launch received significant international attention, and Barcelona is one of the world's leading startup hotspots, deeply immersed in an environment of innovation and ecological transformation,” explains Rocha, who is currently collaborating with a Spanish company to assemble and distribute the tiles in Europe.
Rocha notes that the first commercial batches are expected to be ready by the second quarter of 2023. The new design will undergo another round of performance testing at the Institute for Technological Research (IPT) in São Paulo, with the first beta installations anticipated in the first quarter. In Europe, he is pursuing the CE marking required for sales in the European Union, aiming for Kaatop to be ready for export by the end of 2023.
Greening the Cities
The engineer explains that there is immense room for growth in the sector. According to Rocha, 20 billion square meters (215 billion square feet) of conventional, dry, and arid roofs are installed annually worldwide. “It is an industry that generates over $90 billion a year and contributes to global warming. Conventional green roofs account for less than a thousandth of this market.”
With more than half of the world's population living in urban areas—a figure projected to reach 70% by 2050—rethinking construction standards and food production is crucial. “Our product is a tool that allows people to help mitigate major current challenges, such as urban heat islands, energy costs, and the scarcity of fresh food... ultimately, helping us adapt to the emerging future,” he concludes.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by Mayra Rosa. The translation is powered by AI.
