The startup produces a sprayable paint that harnesses unused sunlight to enhance photosynthesis in greenhouses, resulting in a 20% increase in crop yield. This technology addresses the inefficiency of light utilization in agricultural settings, optimizing plant growth and productivity.
Funding
$2.1M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Greenhouses often fail to efficiently utilize the full spectrum of sunlight, particularly ultraviolet (UV) light, leading to suboptimal photosynthetic rates and limiting potential crop yields. Current methods to enhance plant growth, such as supplemental LED lighting, can be expensive and energy-intensive.
Solution
Lambda agri offers a range of light management solutions designed to optimize the solar spectrum within greenhouses and polytunnels, increasing crop yields. Their core technology involves proprietary molecules that efficiently convert unused UV light into photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), specifically red light, which is more effectively absorbed by plants. This conversion process, known as luminescent downshifting, enhances photosynthesis, leading to increased biomass and sugar content in various plant types. Lambda agri provides this technology in the form of sprayable coatings for existing greenhouses, as well as incorporated into polyethylene films for new polytunnel constructions. The coatings also offer the added benefit of protecting greenhouse plastics from UV degradation.
Target Audience
Lambda agri targets greenhouse growers, polytunnel manufacturers, and companies in the AgriTech sector seeking to improve crop yields and reduce energy consumption.
Features
- Sprayable coating for retrofitting existing greenhouses, applied using an electric spray gun
- Active material that can be integrated into polyethylene agricultural films for new polytunnels
- Proprietary molecules that convert UV light to red light with a verified 60% photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY)
- Increases in crop yield by up to 20%
- Enhanced light diffusion within the plant canopy
- Protection of greenhouse plastic from UV degradation
- PMMA films in various sizes with tailored concentrations of fluorescent chemicals (1-50mg/g of polymer)
- In-house molecule synthesis and doping process for luminescent downshifting and quantum cutting properties