Greenhouses boosted by a spray coating

The coating converts UV light to red light to improve crop growth

Spotted: Growing food in greenhouses can result in very high yields on relatively small amounts of land, enabling more types of fresh food to be grown year-round across the world. But as much as greenhouses boost food security, they also use huge volumes of water and energy. One way to improve greenhouse sustainability is to make them more efficient, which is what startup Lambda hopes to do.

The company has developed a crop-enhancing paint that is applied to the outside of a greenhouse using an electric spray gun. The paint converts high-energy (UV) light into lower-energy (red) light, in a process known as luminescent downshifting. This red light is more photosynthetically active, boosting plant growth, yield, and sugar content.

Lambda synthesises molecules in labs at the University of Cambridge and incorporates them into its polymer films. Pilot crops grown with Cranfield University and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany have demonstrated an increase in yield of nine per cent for basil and 30 per cent for rocket in the coated greenhouses.

The startup has won UK government-funded projects under the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund and is working with academic partners from the University of Cambridge and the University of Bath to scale production. Lambda is also developing coatings that can be incorporated into glass and polycarbonate greenhouse sidings during manufacture.

Written By: Lisa Magloff