Light Science Technologies enters Defra-funded collaboration

Light Science Technologies announced its participation in a 12-month collaboration funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Innovate UK's Transforming Food Production Challenge on Friday, with a total value of £0.23nm.

The AIM-traded firm said under the initiative, it would receive a grant of £0.19m.

It said the company-led project, titled ‘SensorGROW: an intuitive, cost-effective, and scalable precision growing platform, powered by a network of unified agri-sensor nodes’, would involve a consortium comprising UK horticultural expert Bridge Farm, and UK grower Zenith Nurseries.

Over the 12 months, the consortium would focus on extending LSTH's existing SensorGROW air zone sensor to provide root zone data through design refinement, prototyping, and a real-world four-month technical feasibility assessment.

The initiative aligned with the growing market demand for smart agricultural solutions, the board said, as indicated by a report from Global Market Insights, projecting a $55bn cumulative sales growth from 2023 to 2032, with a 12% compound annual growth rate.

Within the 10 million square metres of protected growing environments, LSTH said conventional cultivation processes were persisting, characterised by inefficiencies in labour, energy, and input costs.

The collaboration aimed to enhance productivity by automating manual readings and field walks, while also bolstering resilience through early detection of climate issues, crop diseases, and pests.

It said SensorGROW's targeted resource use would contribute to sustainability in agriculture, alongside LSTH's grow lights, facilitating year-round growing and increasing crop yields economically.

“We are extremely excited to be part of this consortium. There is growing need for innovative solutions that will help increase food security and crop yields and we are delighted to be working with a range of partners that are at the forefront of change and providing welcome solutions to global cultivation challenges,” said chief executive officer Simon Deacon.

“Since launching SensorGROW in June 2022 we have made great strides in developing the technology.

“This collaboration creates the perfect platform for us to further develop the technology, with the aim of empowering farmers to enhance resource management, saving costs on water, nutrients, fertilisers, and energy, while simultaneously increasing yields and cultivating healthier crops.”

At 1544 GMT, shares in Light Science Technologies Holdings were flat at 2.85p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.