Light Science Technologies signs deal for lettuce glasshouse - ICYMI

Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC (AIM:LST) CEO Simon Deacon talked with Proactive about securing a key patent for the company’s sensorGRO technology and signing a new contract as part of its international expansion strategy.

Deacon explained that the sensorGRO system provides real-time data on plant environments, including air and soil temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and electrical conductivity. “It enables the grower to look at what performance and what’s in the soil... it gives them the opportunity to get live monitoring data,” he said. This allows faster decision-making, aiming to optimise yields and profitability.

He also discussed the growing importance of data-led agriculture in the face of climate change. “It’s very difficult now to start growing outdoors... and so if you’ve got the information at hand, you can act quickly,” he said, adding that indoor environments also benefit from these insights.

Additionally, Light Science Technologies announced an initial lighting order in Poland covering 4.8 hectares of lettuce crops. The project uses the nurturGROW range and builds on prior work in Germany. Deacon highlighted that this forms part of the company’s £40 million agtech pipeline.

Looking ahead, Deacon sees environmental applications of sensorGRO as the next step, including monitoring for pollutants and enabling carbon credit generation. He reiterated the company’s revenue target of £50 million over five years, with £20 million from agriculture.

Proactive: Joining me now is Simon Deacon. He is the CEO of Light Science Technologies. And Simon, it's great to see you. How are you?

Simon Deacon: I'm good. Thank you, Steve. I'm very good. Thank you.

Proactive: Yeah. Exciting news out this morning of a contract we'll talk about in just a second. But this all relates to sensorGRO. And you've been securing a patent for that, which you're announcing today. Exciting news. First off, maybe talk about the technology itself so people understand what this patent will cover.

Simon Deacon: Yeah, technology is really important for the company. It's called sensorGRO. And the sensor—what it does, it enables the grower to get information from the plant or the crop that they're growing. So it might be air temperature. It might be root zones and nutrients in that room change. So it covers light, temperature, carbon dioxide, humidity and pressures.

And then on the other side, we look at soil temperatures and moisture and electrical connectivity within the soil. So what it does, it enables the grower to look at what performance and what's in the soil and in the ground, or if you're growing in water—as some of our vertical farmers or glasshouse providers do—it gives them the opportunity to get live monitoring data so that they can act quickly to increase those yields that they're looking for, which increases their profitability.

Proactive: Simon, I'm sure a lot of people would be surprised to know just about the science behind what you're talking about and how important that type of data is to farmers, as you mentioned, as they try to get the best yields they can, especially within the world we're seeing now in climate change. This kind of technology really is so important to them.

Simon Deacon: It is. Food security is hugely important. And around the world, wherever we are, we're experiencing extreme weather patterns. And it's very difficult now to start growing outdoors. And so if you've got the information at hand, you can act quickly. And if you're in an indoor environment, it's the same. You've got weather coming across, if it be rain or sunshine, and you've got to act quickly to be able to protect those plants and get the best possible yields and nutrients in them so that we're getting the best food source.

Proactive: Okay. I want to ask you about—I mentioned the contract a little earlier. You've secured an initial order under a distribution agreement. Talk us through that. Another exciting note for the company.

Simon Deacon: Yeah. So we've delivered one lighting project this year. We have a product called nurturGROW in our lighting range. But this is with our partners. And we extended our partnership agreements and distribution agreements globally. We're looking for those partners all the time. And this one’s with a grower glasshouse provider in Poland.

And it's 4.8 hectares of lettuce that they're growing in the glasshouse. And lighting is going into that 0.8 hectares to support the artificial light, as when the weather is not so good that they can continue growing lettuce. And so it's a really important development for us. We did one earlier on in the year which went into a German glasshouse.

So we're spreading the product and it's gaining traction in Europe and other parts of the world, which is really important to show that we're converting that really important £40-plus million pipeline that we have in the agtech division alone.

Proactive: Yeah. And lastly, just about your technology in general—and I mentioned how important this patent was. That also opens the door, I would think, for you to look at other ways of using the technology as well and continue to have the company growing that way.

Simon Deacon: Yeah. So at the moment, we're focused very much on agriculture—if it’s in Broad Acres or closed. But what we also see is this in an environmental sense: going out into the environment, looking at water pollution, looking at methane, looking at CO₂, looking at ammonia. So further developments will happen.

And this is really important to look at how we can capture carbon into the ground and create carbon credits to offset what we might be polluting in the world with various companies. So it's really important to have that live data. Battery operated, can be placed anywhere—so in a watercourse, or in a field, or on a building—and that really gives it that versatility.

What you're really looking for is that unique product. So really exciting times for us and it creates that recurring revenue for investors—what they want to see. And it's part of really the drive that I've got for the business to take it to £50 million in revenue. And the agriculture side of it, looking at a sector of £20 million in revenue over the next five years.

Proactive: Well, really exciting times for the company. Simon, thanks so much for sharing some information with us. We really appreciate your time.