CANNAINVESTOR Magazine December / January 2016 | Page 52

RESEARCH

The research market consists of plant researchers who study plants at universities, institutes and large ag-tech companies. It’s typical for these customers to use controlled environment agriculture. Examples of large companies that are developing crops, fertilizers etc. are Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, Dupont and BASF. All these companies have large research installations which include greenhouses. In addition to these companies, there are a large number of universities which focus on research and development of agriculture. Research cultivation is a smaller market in terms of volume, but it is very important for other reasons. The relationships with these companies and institutions drive innovation and development and mean that Heliospectra is part of developing the technologies and markets of the future. Heliospectra is, for example, part of a joint venture with DLR (the German space agency) regarding growing in space, NASA uses Heliospectra’s equipment when simulating a Mars expedition and Google as well as MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the US use Heliospectra’s lights in a research project. In addition to these markets, there is further potential for Heliospectra’s products for lighting of forest plants, in botanical gardens and for algae growing for water purification, biofuels and nutrients. The market for research cultivation is estimated to grow by 23 percent between 2014 and 2020 (MarketsandMarkets).

Customer Case: West Virginia University

An increasing number of growers and researchers are looking at the potential of urban farming. Two of these researchers are West Virginia University Assistant Professors Youyoun Moon and Nicole Waterland at the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences. They are doing research to determine how LED lights can be used to meet the increased demand for locally grown urban food. In 2013 when Moon and Waterland made the decision to study the production of food crops under LED lights, they were looking for a flexible and programmable light. The clear choice was the Heliospectra LED solution, thanks to its advanced control system and multitude of light wavelengths. Beyond studying the morphological changes caused by different light spectra, the researchers will also look at the chemical changes within the plants.

ADVANTAGES OF HELIOSPECTRA LED LIGHTS:

-Optimum light spectra and intensity to meeta crop’s light requirements during different production stages

-Energy efficient and deliver the higher lightintensities required in indoor controlled environments.

-Uniform light distribution improves research results

-Heliospectra LEDs light fixtures are waterproof, long-lasting and very dependable

3

52