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Grow Closer With Light Polymers’ GrowBlade® Horticultural Lighting
Grow Closer With Light Polymers’ GrowBlade® Horticultural Lighting
SAN FRANCISCO--Light Polymers, a nanochemistry innovator specializing in lyotropic liquid crystals, is launching a Beta-test program for its innovative GrowBlade® horticultural lighting. GrowBlade flat-panels use Light Polymers’ Crystallin™ remote phosphor film technology to let indoor farmers grow closer, delivering even, consistent lighting in a customizable range of rich crop-specific spectra. The GrowBlade has a long service life, running cooler and experiencing less spectrum shift and lumen drop over time than conventional LED grow lights. Better quality light in a thin, wide-area form factor is one key to higher farm productivity.
“As innovators in a range of specialty lighting markets, Light Polymers knows the importance of engaging potential customers effectively as part of our product development process,” said Sandor Schoichet, VP of Grow Products at Light Polymers Lighting. “To this end, Light Polymers is opening up its GrowBlade Beta-testing program to select vertical farm and controlled environment growers, with the twin goals of gaining real world production experience while better understanding the evolving needs of participating growers.”
GrowBlade Edge 300 and 600 panels (approximately 300x300mm or 1’x1’, and 300x600mm or 1’x2’) will be available to select early adopters starting in late May 2018. Longer GrowBlade Edge 1200 and 1500 models will become available in late 2018. Initial Beta-test lights are available in two standard spectra, with new tailored spectra to be added based on customer input. Introductory pricing for GrowBlade Edge 300 and 600 models is set at $129 and $189 respectively.
“Light Polymers has been busy starting production of our Crystallin film, developing specialty lighting product designs that are eye-safe and comfortable, with extraordinarily rich spectra,” said Marc McConnaughey, Chairman of the Board of Light Polymers Lighting. “We are excited to begin production of the GrowBlade and our other specialty lighting product lines based on our Crystallin film technology.”
GrowBlade lighting achieves a unique level of performance by leveraging our breakthrough Crystallin remote phosphor film, which eliminates ‘point-based’ lighting issues common to other LED lights. Instead of converting blue LED light to specific frequencies on each LED diode and then assembling a variety of specialized LEDs, GrowBlades use sheets of Crystallin film to convert the output of a blue LED array into an evenly distributed, consistent, fully diffused spectrum, while blocking problematic blue and UV wavelengths below 420nm.
This design also results in a slender form-factor just 15mm thick (not including the remote, dimmable LED driver). With evenly distributed light, efficient operation, and a low-profile, GrowBlade light can be placed closer to your plants to improve yields and crop consistency for greater productivity.
Contact us now for updates and early release notification.
About Light Polymers
Light Polymers is a nanochemistry company with deep domain knowledge and expertise in lyotropic liquid crystals, which have many applications including OLED displays, LED lighting and building materials. Light Polymers recently debuted a family of human-centric eye-safe task and study lighting. Founded in 2013 in San Francisco, Light Polymers has over 50 patents issued and pending for its water-based lyotropic liquid crystal nanochemistry. For more information, visit http://www.lightpolymers.com/.
Netherlands: 9 Hectares Indoors Compared To 90 Hectares Outdoors
Netherlands: 9 Hectares Indoors Compared To 90 Hectares Outdoors
Siberia is an innovative enterprise that grows greenhouse vegetables in Maasbree. It was established in early 2016 by Peter van Dijk and Luc Willemssen who also own Van Dijck Groenteproducties, one of the largest suppliers of outdoor-grown leafy greens to the retail and processing sectors in The Netherlands. The partners established Siberia to meet the increasing demand for fresh produce in the winter. Lettuce and leafy vegetables are grown in a mobile gutter system in a new, hypermodern greenhouse. Siberia’s innovative and unique cultivation strategy means that a virtually identical volume of produce can be grown on 9 hectares compared to the 90 hectares that would be required to grow the same amount of lettuce outdoors.
When they began building the Siberia facilities, Van Dijck and Willemssen were committed to creating an efficient and eco-friendly greenhouse. They consulted Cogas Zuid, a specialist in ultra-modern greenhouse installations and certified Philips LED Horti partner. Advisors from Philips Lighting’s Horticulture department provided input on the best light recipe to use and calculated potential yields and return on investment for the crops grown.
Siberia’s 9 hectare greenhouse would be used to grow lettuce and leafy greens like bok choy. The co-owners first considered using HPS (high pressure sodium) lighting, but Philips proposed using LED instead. With LEDs, growers can go to higher light levels, which are really needed for growing lettuce and they can produce more in the winter. LEDs also produce less radiant heat, so there are fewer quality issues with tip burn and inconsistent growth.
The first lettuce and bok choy crops were sown in the new greenhouse in January 2016. It is equipped with a mobile hydroponic gutter system that can be adjusted as the plants grow. The entire process - from sowing to harvesting - takes place under controlled conditions under one roof. A rainwater irrigation system minimizes water usage, and less crop protection products and fertilizers are used compared to outdoors.
The total growing area is 9 hectare. The greenhouse is 6 meters high with 4 meters of space between the LED grow lights and crops. Philips GreenPower LED toplighting modules are used to deliver a light level of 104 μmol/m2/s. According to Philips, these LEDs provide twice as much light output as HPS lights and the entire installation has an efficiency of 2.6 μmol/J. Siberia BV’s customers were so enthusiastic about the locally grown crops available in the winter that they immediately increased their orders. As a result, Siberia BV expanded their operations with another 4 hectares of greenhouse with LED grow lights which opened in June 2017 and has been running at full capacity since.
“Our customers are impressed with the high quality and longer shelf life of the greenhouse crops,” says Grower Tom Willemssen. “The red lettuce has a beautiful dark red color and we are getting heavier and more uniform plants thanks to the controlled growing environment which is what our customers want.” The high light output of the LEDs promotes very fast growth of the plants, shortening the growth cycles. “We can harvest excellent quality crops in about 7 weeks and they are not damaged by the weather compared to those grown outside,” Willemssen.
In the beginning of the project, plant specialists from Philips Lighting supported Siberia in choosing the right lighting set-up and the right light recipe for their crops. Willemssen says, “We know everything about growing crops but we are not experts on lighting so we really appreciated the advice that Philips Lighting gave us. All of their prognoses for yields and length of crop cycles have proved accurate.”
For more information:
Philips
www.philips.com/horti
Publication date: 4/23/2018
Northwest Europe Discovers The Benefits of Coating
Northwest Europe Discovers The Benefits of Coating
Light is the limiting factor for a large part of the year in North-West Europe. This means that any improvement in the amount of light that reaches the crop immediately results in improved yield and quality. The general rule of thumb is: 1% more light = 1% higher production. This applies both to fruiting vegetables and cut flowers.
Normally some of the sunlight that hits the greenhouse roof is reflected and does not reach the crop. AntiReflect significantly reduces this reflection. More light enters the greenhouse as a result; allowing for a higher production and improved quality. The light gain is 3%. This was measured by the Light Lab of Wageningen University & Research.
The lower the sun, the more light reflects from an uncoated greenhouse roof. This means that the greater the angle of incidence, the greater the increase in the amount of light entering as a result of AntiReflect. Calculations by the Light Lab reveal that the light gain can increase to 5% at an angle of incidence of 60o. This angle of incidence is particularly common in North-West Europe and Canada.
Total package
AntiReflect was successfully introduced in the Netherlands in 2017. It was introduced to companies growing cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, roses, chrysanthemums, and lilies. The Light Lab in Wageningen measured the treated glass of all these agricultural companies and confirmed the light gain. The growers are enthusiastic about this new solution and report a higher production and quality of their crop.
Starting this year, companies in Belgium, France, England, Germany, Austria and Switzerland can also take part. Due to the good experiences in the Netherlands, Mardenkro is now offering this solution as a total package in these countries too. This package consists of three components: the product itself, the application and the light measurement.
Guarantee of light gain
The application method is crucial to the result. Mardenkro uses contractors in all cases, who are specially certified for the application of AntiReflect. They have proven that they are able to apply the layer uniformly and at the correct thickness.
Following application, the Light Lab in Wageningen will measure a number of treated panes and will determine the actual light gain in comparison to non-treated panes. The grower will receive a report of this measurement.
This controlled introduction ensures that Mardenkro can guarantee everything is done correctly and that a substantial light gain is indeed achieved. Mardenkro guarantees an increase in the incidence of light by at least 2.5%.
For more information
Mardenkro The Netherlands
Geerstraat 8
5111 PS Baarle-Nassau
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)13 507 70 69
Email: sales@redusystems.com
www.redusystems.com
Publication date: 4/30/2018
What’s The Best Way To Compare Lighting Efficiency?
Posted on 04/26/2018
What’s The Best Way To Compare Lighting Efficiency?
Written by David Kuack
When choosing horticultural lighting, growers need to consider lighting efficiency and how the lighting will be used.
There is a big difference between lighting efficiency for horticulture and lighting efficiency for consumer use. The difference is in who is receiving the light.
“From a human perspective since the early 20th century there was a number of researchers who studied how sensitive the human eye is to the light wavelengths,” said Eden Dubuc, technology leader at Current, powered by GE. “It was discovered that there are receptors in the eyes that collect blue, red and green light. The human eye is most sensitive to yellowish-green light, around 550 nanometers (nm). The reason that humans are really sensitive to this light is because they need to identify good plants as a source of food.
“This color sensitivity of humans varies depending on gender, age and location on the Earth. In order to standardize light measurement, scientists developed a sensitivity curve called a photopic curve that is based on statistical distribution from the world population.”
Dubuc said that it has only been since the 1970s that research has determined plant sensitivity to color. Plants absorb mostly light energy in the range from 400-700 nm, which is defined as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
“If white light, which is broad spectrum, is directed at plants, they appear green,” he said. “Plants absorb most of the red and blue light to activate photosynthesis. If a grower wants to create biomass, then blue and red light are the most sensitive to the plants to convert energy in the plants. Even though the ultraviolet (less than 400 nm) and far red (greater than 700 nm) are less useful to the plants for creating biomass, there are some benefits to other aspects of the plants.”
Determining lighting efficiency
Dubuc said lighting efficiency is related to how much electricity goes into the lighting fixture or luminaire and the amount of energy that comes out.
“If 1 watt of electricity is put into a luminaire and 0.5 watt of light comes out, then there is 0.5 watt of heat generated by the luminaire,” he said. “In some luminaires the energy can also be mechanical energy if there are moving parts. If a luminaire doesn’t use active cooling, there aren’t other ways of losing energy. Active cooling is not used in GE luminaires so the watts energy release is divided by two, a portion goes into light and a portion goes into heat.”
For growers trying to determine which type of lamp to use depends on whether they want a broader spectrum and whether the light will be used to keep the plants in a reproductive or vegetative state. Photos courtesy of Farmbox Greens
Dubuc said the same thing happens to the electricity regardless of whether a grower is using a light emitting diode (LED) or high pressure sodium (HPS) luminaire.
“In a LED the light is mostly in the visible range,” he said. “With HPS there can be a lot of infrared radiation so there is heat radiation from the luminaire that has to be taken into account. Subtracting the amount of watts going into a luminaire from the amount of visible light coming out, everything else is heat, either radiation, convection or conduction.”
In regards to the lighting efficiency of luminaires, Dubuc said most growers are now talking about photon efficacy, which is micromoles per joule.
“Micromoles are the quantity of photons,” he said. “Micromoles per second divided by watts creates micromoles per joule, which is photon efficacy. This is an important value when growers are looking at luminaires. This is how growers can compare the efficiency of the luminaire including the ballast and reflector.
“If lighting manufacturers are talking about micromoles per joule, they are measuring the lighting efficiency the same way. If they are using the units, micromoles per joule, it is well defined.”
Dubuc said if growers are using fluorescent lamps, the efficiency is about 1 micromole per joule.
“For a 400-watt metal halide lamp the efficiency is around 1.3 micromoles per joule,” he said. “For a 400-watt HPS there are 1.65 micromoles per joule. For a 1,000-watt double-ended HPS lamp there are 1.85 micromoles per joule.”
Dubuc said for LEDs the efficiency can vary depending on the light color.
“Our GE pink lights have an average of 2.5 micromoles per joule and our purple can go up to 2.8 micromoles per joule,” he said. “Determining which lamp to use will depend on whether growers want a broader spectrum and if they want the light for the plants to be in a more reproductive or more vegetative state.”
Adjusting light spectrum to optimize growth
Dubuc said prior to the introduction of LEDs the only viable lighting options available to growers were HPS, metal halide and fluorescent luminaires.
“The only difference between HPS and metal halide is that there is a different gas in the tube or bulb,” he said. “When the gas mixture in the glass bulb is activated, then the HPS produces yellowish light. When more mercury methyl gas is introduced into a metal halide bulb, it produces a bluer light.
“There are a few companies that tried to tweak the chemical content in the bulbs to get optimized lighting for plants. But the variation is very limited. When researchers started working with LEDs and phosphor, they were able to create different colors and different mixtures. This is when people realized the potential of playing with the spectrum, with the color. LEDs have the full flexibility to optimize the growth of plants because growers have the ability to tweak the spectrum.”
Dubuc said changing the spectrum may change the photon efficacy.
“With white light the spectrum is broader and a broad spectrum means phosphor has been added,” he said. “When more phosphor is added then efficacy is lost. When only blue and red LEDs are used together there is no phosphor in the system. There are currently two efficient LED compounds on the market. InGaN (blue light with peak efficacy at 450 nm) and AllnGaP (red light at peak efficacy at 660 nm) are the most efficient wavelengths for LED technology.”
The ratio of red to blue light impacts the effect on plant growth.
“GE LEDs offer three ratios of red to blue light,” Dubuc said. “We call these reproductive (6:1), vegetative (1:1) and balanced (3:1). The 3:1 ratio has three times more red light energy than blue light energy. If a grower wants the plants to elongate, then more red light is used. Plants exposed to more red light will grow faster and bigger, but will be more fragile.
“Blue energy controls the structure of the plants. If a 1:1 ratio with as much blue as red is used, plants will be really strong, but short and compact. If growers alter the ratio of blue to red, they can control the structure or morphology of the plants.”
Depending on what a grower is trying to accomplish with the LEDs will determine the ratio of red to blue light.
By altering the ratio of blue to red light, growers can control the plant morphology. A 1:1 ratio of blue to red light will produce strong, compact plants.
“Usually light distributors like Hort Americas will guide growers on what type of light to choose,” he said. “GE creates the fixture based on what the growers and plant researchers are asking for. GE’s expertise is to make good luminaires and conduct the research with universities. Hort Americas staff can properly guide the growers as to what spectrum is best for their crops. These spectrums are based on the many experiments conducted by university researchers and commercial growers.
“Some growers prefer using a broader spectrum (white or pink) to purple light because white light is human-friendly. When choosing lights, it has to be taken into consideration whether there will be humans working in the environment. However, using a broader spectrum impacts the efficacy of generating biomass.”
David Kuack is a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas; dkuack@gmail.com.
Tagged
Artificial Lighting, GE, GE LEDs, Greenhouse LED, LED Grow Lights
Effects Of Temperature On Basil Growth: Some Like It Hot!
Effects Of Temperature On Basil Growth: Some Like It Hot!
Philips researchers all aspects that make up the ideal light recipe for a particular crop. But, did you know that we also study a much broader range of factors to come up with the ideal growth recipe? This means that besides LED growing lights, we look at climate, CO₂, nutrients, and substrates to see how we can make them work together most effectively. In this blog post, I’ll tell you more about the major role that temperature plays in the storage life and yields of basil.
by Thijs van den Bergh
Top performer
Basil, often called the king of herbs, is one of the classic crops that performs very well in a vertical farm. It can be grown year-round in a vertical farm where much higher yields can be achieved compared to a standard greenhouse application. Basil can be grown hydroponically on coco coir, Rockwool or mats.
A global favorite
Originally from India, basil is frequently used in Asian as well as Mediterranean cuisine. Fresh cut basil is highly valued by consumers across the globe and can be grown year-round in a vertical farm or city farm. We have tested several different varieties ranging from Thai and lemon basil to African Blue basil and a range of common Genovese cultivars. They all have very different flavors and characteristics and the breadth in taste and smell is staggering!
The ideal growth recipe for basil
We recently ran a series of experiments to establish a good growth recipe for basil. Philips Horticulture LED Solutions is a lighting supplier and investigating the effects of light on crop growth is one essential aspect of our research. To find a light recipe that achieves a certain set of desired crop characteristics as efficiently as possible, we often start by testing the performance of a crop under different light regimes (spectrum, intensity, day light hours). In this experiment, we broadened our research to also look at other aspects that influence plant growth and we call the combination of these factors a “growth recipe”.
Faster growth or longer shelf life
One of the most influential growth parameters for basil is temperature. Therefore, we grew a series of basil varieties under different temperatures, ranging from 22°C to 30°C. With every increase in temperature, we saw higher productivities (grams per mole). At the same time, however, the shelf life of the end product went down. This means a good growth recipe for basil will need to balance growth speed and shelf life and will greatly depend on how the end product will be sold. For instance, basil for pesto can be grown very quickly because its shelf life is not as important, whereas basil plants grown for fresh cut stems will need to be grown at somewhat more conservative temperature regimes.
Getting the best of both worlds
In the future, we will look at how we can combine faster growth and long shelf life. One approach might be applying a pre-harvest treatment to achieve both faster growth and long shelf life. Our experiments never focus on growth alone.
Thijs van den Bergh is a Plant Specialist at Philips Lighting. He is located at the GrowWise Research Center. His work focuses on setting up and carrying out trials aimed at developing growth recipes to efficiently grow crops with desired characteristics. He carries out research on light, cropping systems, climate and nutrients for a wide range of crops. In this series of articles, Thijs shares the latest results from growing trials carried out in a multi-layer growing environment without any daylight.
For more information:
Philips
www.philips.com/horti
Publication date: 4/30/2018
Illumitex Lights Dream Harvest Farms, An EPA Green Power Partner
Illumitex Lights Dream Harvest Farms, An EPA Green Power Partner
Illumitex Supports Dream Harvest Mission of Sustainable Farming with Efficient Lighting Solutions
AUSTIN, TX (PRWEB) MAY 03, 2018
Illumitex has worked in conjunction with Dream Harvest Farming Company since 2016 to provide LED grow lighting for their certified organic, sustainable, indoor farm located in Houston, TX. The Dream Harvest vertical farming operation uses less than 5% of the water of a normal farm, zero pesticides and 100% wind energy, making it an EPA Green Power Partner. Dream Harvest can also produce 70 times the produce of a normal farm, without taking up arable land.
With a tightly controlled environment, local sourcing, wind power, and efficient LED grow lighting from Illumitex, Dream Harvest is a carbon negative operation that promotes high-quality, locally grown food by the most sustainable means. Dream Harvest is also the first and only certified organic vertical farm in Texas.
“We give our crops exactly what they need, and none of what they don't,” says Zain Shauk, Co-Founder and CEO of Dream Harvest Farming Company. “Part of our success has been the implementation of Illumitex LED lighting. The technology and insight provided by the Illumitex team has been extremely helpful in improving our performance and efficiency, and in generating larger and heartier leafy greens.”
LED lighting provides an indoor operation, such as Dream Harvest, the ability to save significantly on their energy costs. In many cases, this can be close to a 50% savings while offering efficient, quality light to the plants.
“We understand the challenges of sustainable, locally sourced produce which will continue to rise as the urban population continues to increase,” says Jeff Bisberg, CEO of Illumitex. “We know providing the most advance technologies in a cost-effective solution will enable indoor farms to both improve their plant quality and bottom-line.”
Media Contact
Staci Young
512.568.2243
marketing(at)illumitex(dot)com
About Illumitex, Inc:
Founded in 2005 in Austin, Texas, Illumitex works diligently to create industry-shifting achievements in horticultural lighting. Our team of horticulture scientist and engineers have radically transformed LED lighting that influence plant benefits including yield, taste, color and smell. Illumitex is enthusiastically committed to scientific research, cutting-edge design, and innovative engineering. We are dedicated to work with our customer to deliver world class horticulture solutions while pushing lighting into the digital age with automated tools and services. http://www.illumitex.com.
About Dream Harvest Farming Company
Dream Harvest Farming Company, located in the heart of Houston, uses vertical farming to grow fresh, local produce using the most efficient, earth-friendly methods to produce the highest quality leafy greens. http://www.dreamharvestfarms.com
Osram Advances to Become a Leader in Digital Farming Solutions with Acquisition of Texas-Based Fluence Bioengineering
Osram Advances to Become a Leader in Digital Farming Solutions with Acquisition of Texas-Based Fluence Bioengineering
Businesswire
May. 3, 2018
Osram is taking the next step in its quest to become the leading provider of intelligent plant growth solutions by acquiring Fluence Bioengineering, Inc. of Austin, Texas. Fluence was founded in 2013, has approximately 95 employees and its 2017 sales were in the mid-double-digit millions of dollars (USD). The company specializes in LED-based horticultural systems, using OSRAM LED chips, for a wide variety of applications including vertical farming, especially in urban areas. Potential crops range from salad greens and herbs to medicinal plants. Osram and Fluence have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
"Fluence is opening the floodgates to a huge future market,” said Stefan Kampmann, CTO of OSRAM Licht AG. "Its extensive knowledge of the horticulture market and possible applications, combined with Osram’s expertise in lighting technologies, sensors and connectivity, will position us as a leading horticultural solutions provider.” Associated smart farming software can be integrated into Osram’s Internet of Things (IoT) platform Lightelligence, which brings the digitalization of lighting control to a new level. By combining and analyzing sensor data, Lightelligence enables significant progress in automation and intelligent applications far beyond lighting.
Increasing population and continued urbanization are intensifying the demand for fresh food, especially in densely populated cities around the world. To meet the needs of these areas, growers must tap the potential of greenhouses and vertical cultivation systems, utilizing smart lighting, sensor systems and artificial intelligence. In addition to growing healthy and flavorful food, vertical farms reduce the need for long-distance transportation routes. They also lessen the need for pesticides, fertilizers and excessive water use, and ultimately reduce spoilage. These technologies, which also can be used for growers of medicinal plants, contribute to the goal of sustainable agriculture.
LED-based solutions from Fluence help growers meet their yield and sustainability goals by increasing harvests up to 25 percent, reducing energy costs by as much as 50 percent and, through the targeted use of light, improving the quality and nutritional content of plants. Considering also that approximately 40 percent of food is spoiled between the producer and the supermarket shelf, there is an additional ecological aspect to benefit the smart farming approach.
"In the future, self-learning software algorithms will create and optimize digital plant models in order to cultivate tailor-made salads and herbs for platform partners such as supermarkets, online grocery shops and pharmaceutical companies,” Kampmann said.
Osram has increased its involvement in the horticulture sector over the last several years. The company has developed research and specialty luminaires that enable tailor-made light recipes to be controlled for specific plant types. In 2017, Osram invested in the Munich-based startup Agrilution which develops grow boxes with LED lighting for home use.
Fluence Bioengineering, upon closing, will be positioned within Osram’s Professional and Industrial Applications segment in the Specialty Lighting business unit. "We are excited to be teaming up with Osram to drive forward this global expansion and expand our digital product portfolio. Our new and existing customers will benefit from our partnership with Osram in all matters relating to light and sensors”, said Fluence CEO Nick Klase.
ABOUT OSRAM
OSRAM, based in Munich, is a leading global high-tech company with a history dating back more than 110 years. Primarily focused on semiconductor-based technologies, our products are used in highly diverse applications ranging from virtual reality to autonomous driving and from smartphones to smart and connected lighting solutions in buildings and cities. OSRAM uses the endless possibilities of light to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. OSRAM’s innovations enable people all over the world not only to see better, but also to communicate, travel, work and live better. OSRAM has approximately 26,400 employees worldwide as of end of fiscal 2017 (September 30) and generated revenue of more than €4.1 billion. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Munich (ISIN: DE000LED4000; WKN: LED 400; trading symbol: OSR). Further information can be found at www.osram.com.
ABOUT FLUENCE
Fluence specializes in LED-based horticultural systems for a wide variety of applications including vertical farming. Its customers are agricultural producers in indoor locations such as high-rise buildings. Potential applications range from salad vegetables and herbs to medicinal plants. For more information go to https://fluence.science/.
Disclaimer
This document contains forward-looking statements and information, i.e. statements about events that lie in the future rather than the past. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as 'expect', 'want', 'anticipate', 'intend', 'plan', 'believe', 'seek', 'estimate', 'will', and 'predict'. Such statements are based on current expectations and certain assumptions made by OSRAM's management, so they are subject to various risks and uncertainties. A wide range of factors, many of which are beyond OSRAM's control, have an influence on the business activities, success, business strategy, and results of OSRAM. These factors may cause the actual results, success, and performance of OSRAM to differ significantly from those expressly or implicitly communicated in the forward-looking statements or from those that are expected on the basis of past trends. In particular, these factors include, but are not limited to, the circumstances described in the report on risks and opportunities contained in the annual report of the OSRAM Licht Group. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materializes, or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the actual results, performance, and success of OSRAM may differ significantly from those described in forward-looking statements as being expected, anticipated, intended, planned, believed, sought, estimated, or projected. OSRAM assumes no obligation, nor does it intend, to update these forward-looking statements above and beyond the legal requirements or to adjust them in light of unexpected developments. Due to rounding, numbers presented in this and other reports may not add up precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures to which they relate.
Thrive Agritech, Leading LED Horticulture Lighting Innovator, Secures $2 Million Capital Injection
Latest Investment Round, led by New York-based Rose Capital, to Accelerate Adoption of Thrive’s Unique Lighting Technology into Global Horticulture Market
NEW YORK (PRWEB) April 30, 2018
Thrive Agritech, Inc., a technology company focused on leading innovations in LED horticulture lighting (“Thrive”), today announced that it has received an additional $2 million in equity capital to accelerate the development and deployment of its LED technology in controlled environment agriculture. The investment round was led by Rose Capital, a New York-based institutional investor. In conjunction with the investment round, Rose Capital has also joined Thrive’s Board of Directors.
The financing round – and a new partnership with Rose Capital – follows an exceptional year for Thrive Agritech, which saw a rapidly expanding customer base with lighting installations in greenhouses, vertical farms and cannabis production facilities across North America.
Rose Capital noted, “We are excited about this investment based on the extraordinary customer adoption that Thrive has experienced since its first product launch in 2015. Thrive has established a successful track record of commercializing best-in-class LED lighting products – having launched a new product every year since the Company’s inception. We look forward to partnering with Thrive to continue to break down traditional industry barriers and commercialize some of the most innovative products in the global horticultural market.”
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that food production must increase by 70% over the next forty years to satisfy increasing demand. The total market in North America for LED lighting solutions for greenhouses is expected to grow from 2.5 million square feet in 2015 to more than 50 million square feet in 2021. In response to these trends, companies like Thrive are introducing high output lighting solutions to change the efficiency dynamic for global growers.
“Our biggest challenge today is responding to the overwhelming number of opportunities with which we are being confronted,” said Thrive Agritech CEO Brian Bennett. “As we close this investment round, we will be aggressively hiring sales, marketing, and operations support, and leveraging Rose Capital’s expertise, to exceed the expectations of our customers and further develop our product portfolio and core technologies. Additionally, we will be expanding operations into Europe to capture growth in the emerging greenhouse supplemental lighting market.”
Thrive Agritech was founded at the Y Combinator accelerator in Silicon Valley, with a mission to enhance sustainability for controlled environment agriculture. The company’s industry leading energy efficient lighting products have already made significant reductions in the carbon footprint from older lighting technologies. Further, all Thrive Agritech products have an optimized horticulture light spectrum, high reliability, and most importantly improve efficiency and longevity of horticultural crop growth.
About Thrive Agritech
Thrive Agritech is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative products for the controlled environment agriculture industry. The company’s patent-pending technologies enable unique advantages for horticultural solid-state lighting and controls. Corporate headquarters are located in New York City. For more information, visit http://www.thriveagritech.com
About Rose Capital
Rose Capital is a strategic advisor and investment firm focused on the global medical and adult use legal cannabis sector. It is funded by a small consortium of partners looking to access the industry through a diversified long-term, value-focused cannabis fund. Rose Capital manages an ecosystem of best-in-class operating assets across the data, analytics & compliance, distribution & logistics, and consumer products & contract manufacturing verticals of the US cannabis market, expanding globally. Please visit us at http://www.boldrosecapital.com.
The Role of LEDs in Speed Breeding
The Role of LEDs in Speed Breeding
Some of the most important crops for feeding the ever-increasing global population include wheat and barley. In order to meet the future demand, scientists have a task of finding ways to improve efficiencies in breeding these and other, similar plant species. Typically, more than 10 years are needed to develop novel cultivars with an advanced agronomic performance. On one hand, it is because several generation cycles are required to obtain genetically stable lines from selected parent material and on the other hand it is because we are limited in how many generation cycles we can carry out annually.
John Innes Centre scientists have found a way to reduce the amount of time needed for new cultivar development. They call it speed breeding and with it the time needed for one generation cycle is cut in half. They ran tests on wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), pea (Pisum sativum) and canola (Brassica napus). The findings show that it is possible to have up to 6 generations annually for the first five species listed and up to 4 for canola, as opposed to the 2-3 generations annually under normal greenhouse conditions.
To achieve this, they used a controlled environment set-up with a light/dark period of 22/2 hours as opposed to the plants grown in greenhouses with no supplementary light. The plants subjected to the speed breeding conditions progressed to the flowering stage in approximately half the time of those in the greenhouse conditions. The 22-hour daily photoperiod was achieved by using LED illumination as a supplementary source of light. The spectrum in question is Valoya’s NS1, a patented wide spectrum that is a close replica of the wavelengths produced by the Sun on a clear sky day. Additionally, a Far-Red spectrum was used in combination with the NS1 so as to induce flowering. This is because a low R: FR (red: far red) ratio has been found to reduce the time to flowering in plant species such as wheat, barley, grain legumes and many others.
This approach will enable seed companies to significantly cut costs and to produce results faster. Implications could thus be significant for the global food production. It is important to note that the effect on seed quality and quantity was similar to the slower/conventional breeding cycles. Furthermore, it was possible to show that the phenotype for traits such as loss of awn suppressor, dwarf genes, reduced glaucousness or progression of fusarium could be recapitulated under the speed breeding conditions.
Learn more about speed breeding here.
The full study is available here.
The official press release of the John Innes Centre is available here.
Valoya will be hosting the LEDs & Innovators Conference 2018 at the upcoming GreenTech in Amsterdam. The conference is free-of-charge and the topic of Speed Breeding will be presented by Valoya’s biologist, Ms.Stefanie Linzer. To learn more and to reserve your seat, please click here.
About Valoya Oy
Valoya is a provider of high end, energy efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming, and medicinal plants cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).
Additional information:
Valoya Oy, Finland
Tel: +358 10 2350300
Email: sales@valoya.com
Web: www.valoya.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valoyafi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/valoya
The Farm of The Future Is Magenta
The Farm of The Future Is Magenta
What color do many green plants like? The opposite of green: magenta. Nanoco
After the US, guess what country is the second largest exporter of food by dollar value? The Netherlands. One of the smallest countries in the world has become one of the biggest exporters of food.
Dutch farmers have become masters of indoor farming, as National Geographic reports. With advanced greenhouses using LED lights, hydroponics and more, they're able to grow more food, faster and in a smaller space. It's a growing trend (pun intended).
Lighting is one of the biggest costs of indoor farming, but some wavelengths (colors) of visible light are more useful than others. Magenta, for example, is a favorite of green plants. Quantum dots are can be tuned to produce magenta light efficiently.
By using wavelengths the plants want most, less overall light and power needs to be used. No power is wasted creating green wavelengths that a specific plant species doesn't need, for example.
Lights augmented by quantum dots can promote faster growth, not just on a per-plant basis, but even depending on where that plant is in its growing cycle. Certain wavelengths can be used for a young plant, and slightly different wavelengths for a more mature plant.
Researchers have also been able to grow plants faster. Nanoco, makers of the lights you see in the image at the right and above, claim that in some cases plants can grow twice as fast as with standard LED lights.
Quantum dots could be the key to indoor farms producing significantly more food, or small farms being able to produce vastly more food. Indoor farms can also exist in places not typically conducive to farming, such as the cities where most of the world now lives.
And if you look even further ahead, this would be a pretty fantastic way for us to grow a lot of food quickly in space, on the Moon or Mars, and beyond.
North American Growers Welcome New Tool To Manage Light
North American Growers Welcome New Tool To Manage Light
JANUARY 26, 2018 URBAN AG NEWS
“Giving growers the tools to manage light quality is one of our specialties,” says Chris Higgins, General Manager of Hort Americas. “For example, we were one of the first suppliers of LED grows lights in the US. At that time, we saw the crop advantages that growers realized when they had the ability to manipulate spectrum along with intensity.”
The company recently started a partnership with Sudlac. Sudlac’s shading products were introduced in the US last year and received much interest from a wide variety of growers. “We’re giving North American growers a new tool to manage light.”
Hort Americas was founded in 2009 although the team has been actively involved in commercial horticulture for much longer. Strategically positioned in Dallas, it is centrally located to serve its customers in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. It has also partnered with the Dutch supplier Horticoop which provides access to knowledge and products developed by leading European horticulture companies.
Proven products
The decision to partner with Sudlac was based on the European manufacturer’s proven ideas and concepts to manage light and protect the greenhouse structure, says Chris. “As a company, we spend a significant amount of our time managing light in greenhouses and other horticultural production facilities.”
In the past shading, products were designed to reduce the amount of light when the sun was at its brightest. “However, when we started talking to Sudlac we weren’t only looking at shading products. Additionally, we were looking at tools that would complement our product range and that would allow growers to manipulate light quality as well as light intensity in the greenhouse. Sudlac’s product portfolio includes such products and as a result, has been enjoying growing success in Europe,” says the general manager.
Once Chris and his team had indeed established that Sudlac had the sort of high-quality products they were looking for the decision to form a partnership came down to people. “We also considered competitive products but ultimately it was Sudlac’s team that won us over. They are very open and easy to talk to. They have a simple philosophy when their business partners do well, they do well. And working together for shared goals is something we always strive for.”
Wide range of climates
The main shading products imported to North America from Europe are Eclipse LD, Optifuse and Transpar. Eclipse LD is a removable shading agent that protects crops against excessive light and heat; Optifuse is a removable diffuse coating; while Transpar is a shading agent that reflects heat radiation.
“Our growers experience a vast variety of climate conditions and grow a wide variety of crops. These products are best suited to cover all possibilities,” says Chris.
The customers also range from very large to small growers with high value crops. “We want all growers to be able to enhance their crops using shading products. Early interest has come from growers with high value crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens and herbs as well as ornamental potted crops. We are also hearing from growers with a wide variety of niche crops that range from general ag research to high end medicinal and biopharmaceutical crops.”
Hort Americas introduced the first products to the North American market in the middle of 2017. “We are still in the process of convincing growers that this technology is going to work, and we have had a huge amount of interest so far. We expect demand to take off when the shading season starts this year!”
For more information:
Hort Americas
2801 Renee St
Bedford, Texas 76021
469-532-2383
hortamericas.com
Philips Lighting Signs New Partnership Agreement With Greenhouse Specialist ST Solution for Russian Horticulture Market
February 28, 2018
Philips Lighting Signs New Partnership Agreement With Greenhouse Specialist ST Solution for Russian Horticulture Market
Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Philips Lighting (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced the official Philips LED Horti partnership agreement with ST Solution, a Russian specialist in turnkey greenhouse solutions.
This partnership, made official at the HortiContact fair (February 20-22) in the Netherlands, came after the two companies worked together on an enormous new horticultural project at Agro-Inwest, a horticultural innovator located 350 km southwest of Moscow. The collaboration is part of a larger initiative in which Philips Lighting is developing a network of Russian partners.
“We are sharing our knowledge and investing in training programs for Russian experts,” said Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Philips Lighting. ST Solution’s personnel have already completed multi-stage training programs in Russia and at Philips Lighting’s headquarters in Eindhoven.
Valentin Shchenikov, Technical Director of ST Solution, said that it made sense to partner with Philips Lighting in both the short- and long-term. “If you want to be the best you should work with the best producers,” he said. “We appreciate the Philips system approach. Because it’s not just luminaries selling, it's an ROI-philosophy with quality service at each project stage: from business planning to agronomic support during growing. For us Philips is an example of genuine teamwork.”
ST Solution provides smart horticultural systems and greenhouse constructions for greenhouse projects throughout Russia. It has a Dialux certified design team and skillful installation team. Most recently they have been working with several new investors and on greenhouse projects in Russia, including the largest LED project worldwide at Agro-Inwest.
Agro-Inwest is one of Russia’s most innovative greenhouse produce companies. In 2017-2018 ST Solution built its greenhouses the size of 40 football fields, more than 25 hectare, for growing tomatoes and cucumbers. ST Solution helped install 120,000 GreenPower LED interlighting and GreenPower LED toplighting modules in less than three months in Russian winter time.
“We wanted to work with ST Solution because it has demonstrated sharp implementation times in Russia,” said Van Slooten. “The successful Agro-Inwest installation proved that ST Solution could deliver the local high level of service support that we look for in a partner.”
We are hiring: Business Development Manager CEE/Russia
LumiGrow, Completes Oversubscribed Bridge Financing Round
With the successful closing, LumiGrow will continue to focus on providing industry-leading LED lighting hardware and software solutions to commercial horticulture and research institutions, utilizing data gathered through its smartPARTM software application and recently introduced smartPARTM Light Sensor Module.
LumiGrow, Completes Oversubscribed Bridge Financing Round
Emeryville, CA, USA – February 14, 2018 – LumiGrow, a smart horticultural lighting company, announced the successful completion of a $5.1 million bridge financing. The oversubscribed round included participation from existing lead investor, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, as well as new investors, ValueAct Spring Master Fund, L.P. and Greenhouse Capital.
With the successful closing, LumiGrow will continue to focus on providing industry-leading LED lighting hardware and software solutions to commercial horticulture and research institutions, utilizing data gathered through its smartPARTM software application and recently introduced smartPARTM Light Sensor Module. The timing and size of the financing allows LumiGrow to accelerate the development of its next-generation products.
Kelly Barlow, a Partner at ValueAct Capital, has been appointed to LumiGrow’s Board of Directors, which includes LumiGrow’s CEO, Shami Patel, Partners of Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Devin Whatley and James Everett, and agricultural industry leader, Minos Athanassiadis.
The registered principals of Keene Advisors and representatives of Squire Patton Boggs advised LumiGrow in connection with the bridge financing.
About LumiGrow, Inc.
LumiGrow, Inc., the leader in smart horticultural LED lighting solutions, empowers growers with the ability to improve plant quality, boost crop yields, and achieve cost-saving operational efficiencies. LumiGrow offers a range of proven grow light and software solutions for use in greenhouses, controlled environment agriculture and research chambers. LumiGrow is headquartered in Emeryville, California,
About Ecosystem Integrity Fund
The Ecosystem Integrity Fund is a top-ranked venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies contributing to environmental sustainability. The fund has had successful exits with investments in Zep Solar, Kevita, and eMotorWerks.
About ValueAct Capital
ValueAct Capital is a San Francisco-based investment firm with approximately $15 billion in assets under management. ValueAct Spring Master Fund’s investment objective is to seek to achieve superior returns by making long-term investments in companies that responsibly and creatively address certain environmental and social problems by using sustainable models.
About Greenhouse Capital Partners
Greenhouse Capital Partners is a growth capital firm investing in emerging businesses promoting health and sustainability within the areas of food, agriculture, and the environment. The firm believes that an economic revolution is underway, powered by technology and simultaneously shaped by evolving consumer needs, that has created a business landscape in which healthy, sustainable, higher quality and more engaging consumer experiences can thrive. Greenhouse is at the forefront of investing in this wave of change. The firm targets real companies with real products that are built upon real values to stand the test of time. We focus on helping build companies that tackle both the complex issues of health and sustainability in society and are themselves built upon sustainable business models.
If you would like more information, please call LumiGrow at (800) 514-0487, or visit www.lumigrow.com.
Lighting Research Spotlight
Thinking of adding or upgrading supplemental grow lights in your greenhouse? Then the article “How Many Light Fixtures Do I Need?” written by GLASE Principal Investigator Dr. Neil Mattson and published in the e-Gro Edible Alert is a must read.
Lighting Research Spotlight
How many light fixtures do you need in a greenhouse?
Thinking of adding or upgrading supplemental grow lights in your greenhouse? Then the article “How Many Light Fixtures Do I Need?” written by GLASE Principal Investigator Dr. Neil Mattson and published in the e-Gro Edible Alert is a must read.
Mattson walks you through estimating how many fixtures you need if you know your target light intensity in micromoles per square meter per second (µmol/m2/s) and the light output in micromoles per second (µmol/s) from a given fixture. You can also estimate your annual electricity bill from using the lights if you know the power consumption of a fixture (in Watts) and an estimate of how many hours it will be operating during the year.
To further lower implementation and operational costs of horticultural LED lighting systems, GLASE is developing controlled environment agriculture (CEA)-specific technologies. The goal of these technologies is to improve lighting design recommendations and to support growers during the decision-making process to define an optimal system.
New technologies serving commercial lighting companies include the development of integrated CEA buildings, energy simulation engines, integrated control system simulations, and investigations of light distribution patterns in tall plant canopies. The development of a framework to compare energy and cost impacts of various lighting systems designed for horticultural applications will assist CEA growers in determining an optimal technology to fit their specific needs.
For more information, please visit the GLASE website at www.glase.org
Picture courtesy of Tessa Pocock
Can CEA Growers Be Offered Better Lighting and Control Systems?
The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium is bringing together industries and researchers from different sectors in an open platform to integrate advanced energy-efficient LED lighting with improved environmental controls for more efficient and sustainable greenhouse production.
Can CEA Growers Be Offered Better Lighting and Control Systems?
GLASE consortium is connecting different segments of the controlled environment agriculture industry to create new opportunities for technology development and commercialization.
Technologies underlying horticultural lighting and control systems are rapidly evolving providing academics and private companies new tools with value-added applications in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities. The improved capabilities offered by new integrated lighting systems are expanding the market opportunities for lighting, sensing and control companies.
The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium is bringing together industries and researchers from different sectors in an open platform to integrate advanced energy-efficient LED lighting with improved environmental controls for more efficient and sustainable greenhouse production.
GLASE addresses the following industries:
- Basic manufacturing: Large manufacturing companies serving a broader market beyond horticultural applications interested in serving the CEA market.
- Lighting, sensing and controls: Product and service companies providing greenhouse growers with systems and controls used for crop production and greenhouse management operations.
- CEA producers: All controlled environmental agricultural production facilities, including greenhouses, indoor farms and urban agriculture.
- Retailers: Food and ornamental crop vendors buying directly or indirectly from CEA producers.
- Auxiliary companies: A broad range of service providers, trade associations, government and private agencies, working to support the other segments of the CEA supply chain.
- Policy and regulatory: Public and private agencies developing horticultural lighting standards and regulations and energy rebate programs.
Led by Cornell University, the Center for Lighting and Applications Systems (LESA) and Rutgers University, GLASE is working with its industry members to de-risk technology development and accelerate market adoption. Identifying existing technology gaps within and across different industry sectors, GLASE members from the basic manufacturing and lighting, sensing and controls segments are exploring commercial opportunities based on similar and complementary technology.
Guided by both the needs of CEA producers and GLASE researchers’ findings new technologies will be validated through multi-phase processes from scientific proof of concepts to implementation in commercial greenhouses. The integrated areas of research ranges from the development of high-efficiency dynamic LED systems and spectrum/irradiance optimization based on plant sensing and environmental conditions to integrated lighting, shade, carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, and humidity control systems. Click here to find the GLASE detailed research program
For more information, please visit the GLASE website at www.glase.org or contact GLASE executive director Erico Mattos at em796@cornell.edu.
Independence LED Lighting Ready With Program To Back Changes To SNAP
Independence LED Lighting Ready With Program To Back Changes To SNAP
20 February 2018
Greater Philadelphia
Independence LED Lighting stated that it was shovel ready for a pilot program in Philadelphia to support proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), included in the President’s Budget for Financial Year 2019.
The White House recently unveiled the updated Budget, which had a path to include American-grown foods provided directly to households.
Mick Mulvaney, director, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said that the administration’s plan would not only save the government money but also provide people with more nutritious food than they have now.
The concept of an America’s Harvest Box, delivered each month as part of the SNAP, is based on volume purchasing to reduce unit costs. Over 16 million American households currently receive some form of assistance through SNAP.
Individually, they do not have the buying power that would come with government volume purchases. The logistics of the proposed programme are naturally very complicated and detractors should not dismiss the idea outright. With economies of scale, SNAP recipients could receive more nutritious food at lower costs.
“Cost-effective change involves challenging the status quo, and we are pleased to leverage our American-made technology to launch a pilot project that will demonstrate the benefits of next-generation future food for SNAP recipients,” said Charlie Szoradi, chairman and chief executive officer, Independence LED Lighting.
American innovation
Independence LED Lighting is one of the first authentic Buy American Act- (BAA) compliant LED lighting manufacturers.
Since moving its production from China to southeastern Pennsylvania in 2010, the company has provided its United States-made light-emitting diode (LED) technology across the public and private sectors.
Building owners and managers typically save 50 percent or more on electricity, and Independence LED Lighting also has developed advanced LED grow lights to optimize indoor farming.
In conjunction with indoor farm partners, the company produces vegetables at lower costs than Americans pay at grocery stores.
By adjusting the light wavelengths of its LEDs, the company can enhance growth by plant type and optimize photosynthetic photon flux density (PPDF).
After more than two years of research and development (R&D), the first consumer received, via overnight mail, the first delivery of live microgreens in November 2017 at 20 percent below the grocery store cost, including the shipping cost.
Microgreens are an excellent addition to any diet, because they often have 40 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts.
The live aspect is important in this example because the vegetables last over two weeks in home refrigerators and retain more of their nutrients than harvested produce.
Local delivery would replace overnight shipping for the majority of the SNAP programme, given that one or more indoor farms would be in or near each major US city.
In addition to the food and cost advantages for the government and SNAP recipients, American manufacturing, indoor farming and produce delivery all help create more job opportunities for SNAP recipients.
Domestic job creation is naturally the top aspect of US president Donald Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order, signed in April 2017.
Pilot concept
Imagine that there is not necessarily just one American Harvest Box for each family each month, but multiple drop-shipments from a coalition of private sector companies.
The participating companies provide farm-direct and factory-direct food to the families.
Perishable vegetables are not referenced as part of the box concept in the budget, but many SNAP families live in neighborhoods with limited access to fresh produce.
These food deserts are a health challenge for Americans. Independence LED Lighting envisions starting with an indoor farm pilot programme in Philadelphia and then rolling out to each major metropolitan market.
Local indoor farms reduce transportation costs. Currently, California produces over 90 percent of the vegetables in the United States, so reducing 2,000 miles down to under 20 miles is one of the very real ways to generate savings.
Plus, indoor farming is weather-proof for year-round harvesting that is fresh versus truck-ripened.
The reduced transportation also reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, for cleaner air and environmental sustainability.
For the pilot programme, Independence LED Lighting will use veggie drop-off days as opportunities to share health tips and recipes.
The programme will also train SNAP recipients for new jobs, build a youth mentor programme for next-generation ambassadors of healthy living, and provide reports on performance metrics.
The intended outcome is lower-cost food, healthier food, engaged members of the community and measurable results.
Philips Lighting Announces First Russian LED Cucumber Project With Agrokultura Group and New Partner Svetogor
Philips Lighting Announces First Russian LED Cucumber Project With Agrokultura Group and New Partner Svetogor
Philips Lighting today announced it has installed its first LED grow light project for cucumber cultivation in Russia with Agrokultura Group, LLC, and its new business partner Svetogor. Agrokultura is a large supplier of greenhouse grown cucumbers and tomatoes located near Moscow. The company is trialing a hybrid installation with HID top lighting and GreenPower LED interlighting on 7,550 square meters with the aim of increasing its yields, predictability and reducing energy costs.
“We use lighting from September to April in our cucumber greenhouse for about 4,000 hours. Reducing the electricity costs for our lighting system could significantly increase the profitability of the greenhouse,” says Vladimir Chernyshev, CEO of Agrokultura Group, LLC. “Besides reducing energy costs, we are expecting to see an increase in yields which would allow us to pay back the LED modules within the first three to four years of their use. The return on investment we achieve in the trial will be crucial for helping us decide whether to switch our full 30 hectares of greenhouse to LED lighting. We are partnering with Philips Lighting because of its high-quality technical solutions and ability to supply big orders in a relatively fast time frame.”
“Our recent participation in Russian projects like LLC Agro-Invest, the largest LED project in the world for cucumbers and tomatoes, has created a lot of interest across Russia and other parts of the world,” said Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Philips Lighting. “We know that lighting costs make up a significant share of operational costs for Russian growers, and we are eager to help Agrokultura increase its yields and reduce its energy consumption with the use of our LED technologies.”
This project is being implemented by Svetogor, a turnkey project lighting and horticultural lighting company headquartered in Moscow. Svetogor produces its own innovative HID lighting fixtures for greenhouses and has built up a great deal of experience in LED technologies based on its implementation of more than 100 large-scale projects with LED lighting in the last five years.
The partnership with Philips Lighting was announced on Wednesday morning @ Fruit Logistica, the fresh produce trade show in Berlin, February 7-9, 2018
Vertical Farming, LEDs and The Flavor of Leafy Greens
Vertical Farming, LEDs and The Flavor of Leafy Greens
A large climate cell with endless racks of microgreens illuminated with soft pink or white light works 24/7 to bring delicious microgreens to the kitchens of some of Amsterdam’s top restaurants. GROWx is one of Europe’s most known vertical farms and its offering of more than 20 microgreen varieties has quickly earned its spot within Amsterdam’s top 10% restaurants. At the moment it is only microgreens and only for the city of Amsterdam but the ambitions of GROWx’s founders are to re-invent agriculture for urban areas. ‘This revolution can’t come fast enough’ says the CEO and Co-Founder, Mr.John Apesos.
This high tech, futuristic looking environment is what the farming of the future could look like. Nevertheless, when it comes to the end customers, restaurant chefs and their patrons in this case, it is primarily about flavor and freshness. These microgreens go from the farm to the dinner plate in a matter of hours and according Mr.Apesos this is what keeps the flavors intense. The varieties include everything from the common pea-shoots to the more exotic ones like the borage crest.
The GROWx vertical farm is fully equipped with Valoya’s LED grow lights. The primary spectrum used is the AP673L which has been optimized for the vegetative stage of plant development. This means that plants grown under this light will quickly develop biomass (stems and large, thick leaves) while flowering will be delayed or completely prevented making it ideal for microgreens and leafy greens in general. In a research conducted by Wageningen University and Democritus University, the AP673L spectrum boosts the development of chicoric, rosmarinic and caffeic acids and other phenolic compounds making the plants more flavorful and nutrient dense1. The other spectrum is NS1, a sunlight replica spectrum, good for the entire growth cycle. Both spectra are wide and patented with a high CRI (Color Rendering Index) value meaning that plants and other objects look natural under them i.e. their colors look as they would under natural sunlight.
1 F. Bantis et al.(2016) Artificial LED lighting enhances growth characteristics and total phenolic content of Ocimum basilicum, but variably affects transplant success, Scientia Horticulturae 198 (2016) 277–283
About Valoya Oy
Valoya is a provider of high end, energy efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming and medicinal plants cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).
Panasonic Vertical Farm in Full Operation
February.5, 2018 - 23:28 — Evangeline_H 311 pageviews
Panasonic Vertical Farm in Full Operation; Special Horticultural LED Lighting Deployed to Increase Vegetable Production
Multinational electronics company Panasonic will start growing and marketing high-value vegetables in China from March 2018 with its vertical farm in Suzhou. Those vegetables will be made into salads and sold to up to 30 shops in Suzhou and Shanghai.
(Image: Panasonic)
In China, food safety has become more and more important. Panasonic claims monitoring and management at each stage will be thoroughly executed in hope to increase the sales in the Chinese market.
Panasonic in 2016 started running a vertical farm in its electronic component manufacturing subsidiary in Suzhou. The vertical farm, taking a 1,000 square meter area, is now officially in full operation.
The company aims to raise the plant production by 3 times to a monthly production of 9 tons.
Prices of the vegetables will be 2-2.5 times higher, compared with prices local plant growers set for their production. Those vegetables grown in the vertical farm were sold to merely two channels in Suzhou—the AEON MALL and the Izumiya Supermarket. In the future, Panasonic plans to approach local shops as well, broadening the channel to market its plant production to the Chinese community.
Panasonic uses special LED lighting to provide and adjust the light in the vertical farm to ensure the temperature, humidity, and the density of carbon dioxide are maintained at a certain level. That turns the farm an environment suitable to grow β-carotene-rich plants anytime of the year.
The company says the salads it offers are nutrient-rich and safe to eat, and looks for collaborations with local restaurants. It will also be working with local e-commerce companies to develop strategies to market both high-value vegetables and the equipment in the vertical farm.
People in China have become more aware of food safety after being affected by overuse of pesticides. The awareness towards vertical farms thus increased. Plant factories have been built in several regions in China since 2010.
At the early stage, these facilities were simply regarded as the demonstration of advanced plant production technology by governments and big corporations. Later on, more companies established their vertical farms once the government released more subsidies.
Establishments across the nation eventually scaled up, with the largest facility (approximately 9,000 square meters) that is able to produce 45 tons of vegetables on a monthly basis.
Philips Lighting North America launches new GreenPower LED Interlighting with greater efficacy and plug and play installation
Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, announced the new Philips GreenPower LED Interlighting Generation 3 (Gen 3) is now available for the North America market.
February 6, 2018
Philips Lighting North America launches new GreenPower LED Interlighting with greater efficacy and plug and play installation
Eindhoven, The Netherlands – Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, announced the new Philips GreenPower LED Interlighting Generation 3 (Gen 3) is now available for the North America market.
Designed to be placed within the crop canopy, the bi-directional or sideways-facing LEDs of the Interlighting system direct growth-stimulating light on the most vital parts of crops to boost the yield of high-wire tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. The added light is particularly valuable during the darker months of November through February. Moreover, the new Interlighting Gen 3 will do this highly efficiently as it offers a system efficacy of 2.7 to 3.0 μmol/J.
“We are excited to roll out the new Interlighting Gen 3 module to the North America market. It has been very well received by growers in Europe since being introduced to the European market at the IPM show last year,” said Ron DeKok, Business Development Director Horticulture at Philips Lighting. “Growers in Canada and the U.S. are eager to have access to the Gen 3 model because it offers a higher light intensity compared to the previous Interlighting module and it’s much easier to install.”
Installation ease and flexibility
The new system is designed to simplify the installation process with a plug and play connector and flexible cable connections. The Philips Interlighting Gen 3 is available in two lengths, 2.0 meter and 2.5 meters, and two light intensities—a high output version and regular output version. The high output version operates at 81 to 100 watts with an efficacy of 3.0 μmol/J; the regular output module operates at 64 to 79 watts with an efficacy 2.7 to 2.8 μmol/J.
Proven highest yields
After seeing strong results achieved by the tomato grower Herdi as well as record yields of 107 kg achieved last season by Proefstation Hoogstraten, Belgian tomato grower Tomaline decided to install the GreenPower LED InterLighting system in the new greenhouse it will build. “The very high light output of 220 μmol/s and resulting high efficacy of 2.8 μmol/J will give us exactly what we need to increase our yield,” said Kris van Haute co-owner of Tomaline. “The system comes as either a 2 meter or 2.5 meter version allowing us to tailor it to our specific situation and create a uniform light distribution right until the end of the row.”
Developed in cooperation with growers
Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Philips Lighting said, “These latest innovations in our horticultural applications are a result of the long-term collaboration between Philips Lighting and our customers across the world. By working closely with them, we were able to identify exactly how we could further advance the system. As a result, we have developed and introduced the new Philips GreenPower LED Interlighting Gen 3 system providing greater ease of installation and a higher light efficacy which in turn results in higher yields”.
For further information, please contact:
Barbara Perzanowski
Marketing Communications Specialist
Philips Lighting – Horticulture LED Solutions
E-mail: barb.perzanowski@philips.com
About Philips Lighting
Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting products, systems, and services, delivers innovations that unlock business value, providing rich user experiences that help improve lives. Serving professional and consumer markets, we lead the industry in leveraging the Internet of Things to transform homes, buildings and urban spaces. With 2016 sales of EUR 7.1 billion, we have approximately 34,000 employees in over 70 countries. News from Philips Lighting is located at http://www.newsroom.lighting.philips.com