A finish that is crystalline in frigid weather and automatically commute to opaque in blistering weather condition to provide on - demand shadiness . With that theme , the university spin - off Albotherm was erect . Now the startup has been awarded a significant grant from Innovate UK to spearhead a groundbreaking project in collaboration with supplier Pilkington and growers Flavourfresh and Vitacress .
Albotherm has developed a Smart tad coat that is transparent in cold weather but automatically converts to opaque in hot weather to provide on - demand shade , optimizing harvest rise condition and reducing solar overheating .
" As our product is responsive to changing temperature , it ensures that the greenhouse environment remains optimise for growth , maximise crop output and securing the global food supply in a modify mood , " says Molly Allington , chief operating officer of Albotherm . " In commercial glasshouse , our technology allows harvest to benefit from the early dayspring and eve light while being protect from the heat of the midday sun , promote overall light stage by 18 % and demonstrating a 34 % step-up in crop yield liken to received shading approaches . "
This ambitious project , which get in May 2023 , has received £ 500k grant funding from the Department for Environment , Food , and Rural Affairs ( Defra ) as part of the Farming Innovation Pathways Grant , administered by Innovate UK . The aim is to direct the pressing need for sustainable solution in the horticulture sector by maximise energy efficiency and reducing environmental wallop . The company also secure £ 1.1 m fairness finance originally this year .
The project aim to develop and examine Albotherm ’s groundbreaking smart finish , with a focussing on the optimization and shell - up of their retrofit temperature - antiphonal shade coating for commercial greenhouses . Initial testing is schedule to commence in Spring 2024 in partnership with Flavourfresh and Vitacress , two of the UK ’s leading soft fruit and culinary herb grower , with commercial - scale crop trials .
Andy Roe , Production Manager at Flavourfresh , says : " This Albotherm projection is exactly why British horticulture is routine one in the man . Flavourfresh is so worked up to be partnering with Albotherm on such an incredible and innovative construct . The outcome of this work will be so good to all agriculturist across the sector . It ’s projects like this that make our jobs so stimulant and exciting for future challenges . "
Partnering with PilkingtonAlbotherm is also partner with world - result glass manufacturing business Pilkington to educate a glass finish for raw greenhouse structure that can be grow using Pilkington ’s large - area manufacturing processes . This unexampled production will have a foresightful lifetime , maximize the environmental benefit of Albotherm ’s engineering and allowing admission to a panoptic securities industry chance in industrial glazing .
Molly adds : " We are mad to take in the Innovate UK subsidisation and to collaborate with leaders in the UK gardening industry . We are honor to have the support of Flavourfresh , Vitacress , and Pilkington on this groundbreaking projection , and we bet forth to lend to a more sustainable future for the horticultural industry . "
Anna Colley , Lead Technologist at Pilkington Technology Management Limited ( PTML ): " We are continually developing the next generation of spyglass products and have lately launch our Pilkington Botanical glass range focused on optimizing greenhouse agriculture . We are very much looking forrader to working with Albotherm and explore the potentiality of fuse their smart shade program with our chicken feed engineering as a likely footmark towards more active systems for battle temperature variations in Greenhouses . "
For more information : Molly Allington , CEOAlbotherm Ltd.[email protect ]
