Bibliometric Analysis of Energy Efficiency Trends in Vertical Agriculture: From Technical Optimization to Environmental Sustainability

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Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为光伏效率、钙钛矿太阳能电池、储能技术、太阳能热利用、BIPV、并网技术等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

<ns5:p>Background High energy consumption in lighting and climate control systems remains a major obstacle to the economic viability of vertical farming, despite its potential as a strategic solution for urban food security. This study aims to analyze research trends in energy efficiency in vertical farming systems in Asia and their implications for environmental sustainability through a bibliometric approach. Methods A total of 142 journal articles retrieved from Scopus were analyzed using a bibliometric approach. The dataset primarily covers publications from 2020 to 2025, focusing on English-language open-access articles affiliated with institutions in Asian countries. Bibliometric mapping was conducted using VOSviewer to analyze publication trends, keyword co-occurrence networks, and collaboration patterns. Network, overlay, and density visualizations were used to identify thematic structures and research evolution in the field of energy efficiency in vertical farming systems. Results Publications grew from 11 documents in 2020 to a peak of 42 in 2025, with fluctuations including a dip in 2024 before the subsequent rise. China dominated country contributions (60 documents), followed by India, South Korea, and Japan, while Indonesia remained low (6 documents). Five thematic clusters were identified: energy efficiency, factory-level application, vertical agriculture/IoT systems, optimization-simulation, and building-sustainability. Overlay analysis revealed a technological evolution from infrastructure installation toward AI-based precision optimization, while density analysis showed saturation in technical-operational topics alongside a clear gap in systemic integration with urban ecosystems. Conclusions Energy efficiency research in Asian vertical farming has grown substantially but remains concentrated on technical-operational optimization, leaving systemic integration with urban ecosystems underexplored. Future research should prioritize harmonizing Life Cycle Assessment methods, developing low-cost autonomous control systems, and advancing building-integrated agriculture to strengthen the real-world environmental contribution of vertical farming technologies.</ns5:p>

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