Syracuse Startup Developing LED Lights For Indoor Farming

Syracuse Startup Developing LED Lights For Indoor Farming

Mar 28, 2018

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) - Getting your hands on fresh, local produce, even in dreary winter months could be a lot easier thanks to a young Syracuse company.

Heliohex says it has developed LED lights that can really improve indoor farming.

The company is operating out of The Tech Garden in Syracuse.

Heliohex Founder and Ceo Adam Milam say, "So throughout the life cycle of the plant you can do the sunrise and the sunset because our sun is not just stationary, its not just one color, there are dynamic changes and we can do that."

Milam says his company's lights specialize in LED lights that best meet the needs of various produce, which have very specific demands.

"Plants really need the right intensity of light, they need the right coloration and uniformity of the light is critical and that's where we stand out,"  Milam tells NewsChannel 9.

Kale Harbick is a Research Associate at Cornell University, "You have lights in a greenhouse or warehouse farm, they're all in the same plain and you get a bullseye effect so plants in the middle get lots of light, plants on the edge don't get as much light." 

Cornell researchers say Heliohex may have the answer to this problem.

It is why the Ivy League school has teamed up with Heliohex to see if together they can enhance the lights beyond what they're already showing they can do.

"We learned more and more about Adam's technology and think it has some interesting benefits we're not seeing in other places,"  Harbick says.

Milam adds, "We want to validate that we're doing the right things to solve the problems of farmers." 

Heliohex is selling to select customers right now while it's also expanding its team and bringing on new hires, and taking on investors at the same time. 

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