Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC (AIM:LST) launched a range of slimline lighting products to sell into the vertical farming market and also signed an agreement with FTSE 100 giant Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO).
The AIM-listed company said the new products in its nurturGROW lighting range would reduce the space and energy required in the multi-layer approach employed in vertical farms, research centres and city farms.
LSTH said the Vertical Farm range has lower production costs, which is expected to have a positive effect on margins as sales scale up in the medium to long term.
“We are focused on growing revenue streams and routes to market. The Vertical Farm range is designed to appeal to both existing and new clients and will further enable us to grow our market share,” said Simon Deacon, founder and chief executive of Light Science Technologies.
“At a time of rocketing energy prices, indoor farmers are under increasing pressure to find more energy efficient ways of growing their crops to save costs long-term.”
Backed by a 25-year product lifecycle, all nurturGROW products aim to save growers a third on future costs and reduce waste, being designed to reduced energy requirements and reduced operating costs without compromising performance, with almost all components being reusable to allow growers to easily upgrade, with no downtime.
The expanded range will be launched this week’s Indoor Agtech Innovation Summit in New York, which according to its organisers “gathers the world's leading farm operators, retailers, investors, seed companies and technology providers to meet, network and cultivate new commercial partnerships in indoor farming, CEA [controlled environment agriculture] and urban food systems”.
Alongside this announcement, LSTH said its Contract Electronics Manufacturing arm has signed an agreement “crystalizing its long-term partnership” with Rentokil.
It added that the CEM division continues to have strong visibility over future revenues and remains on target to meet forecasts for the current year.