Sollum's technology proven on over thirty produce varieties with the support of the technology showcase

Sollum Technologies’ smart LED lighting solution, which includes the unique cloud-based SUN as a Service® platform, enables the greenhouse cultivation of a plant regardless of its native climate, its variety, or the location of the greenhouse. Sollum’s 100% programmable solution dynamically recreates, perfects, and modulates the full cycle of the Sun’s natural light with unparalleled precision, thereby creating an ideal lighting environment for growth.

Thanks to a 240 000 $ grant from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation through the Innovation Program’s Technology Showcase segment, the flexibility inherent to Sollum’s solution was tested numerous times before it was deployed at commercial scale. Over the course of a year and a half, more than thirty varieties of fruits and herbs were subject to trials in greenhouses of different types and sizes as well as in controlled environments in which light cannot penetrate, such as shipping containers. These trials were conducted on strawberries in partnership with the Montréal-based Gaia Nova Foundation’s KM0 project, on exotic citruses with Laval-based O’Citrus, and on herbs and a wide variety of seedlings with Les serres Frank Zyromski in Rivière Rouge, among others.

“Our government is proud to support the implementation of projects that enable the development and promotion of new technologies which benefit local and sustainable agricultural production. I salute Sollum Technologies and its partner growers in this initiative for their commitment to innovation. This technology supports the goal of the Québec 2020-2025 greenhouse growth strategy I announced last November, which will increase and optimize the greenhouse cultivation of fruits and herbs in Québec,” emphasized Mr. André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Minister Responsible for the Centre-du-Québec Region.

Sollum co-founder and vice president of Research and Development Gabriel Dupras stressed the importance of multiple trials for greenhouse growers because, for them, it is not just a question of produce quality, but also of the ease-of-use of Sollum’s technology. “Depending on the produce, growers observed variables such as rooting, growth, leaf area, plant size, colour and taste, on top of fixture installation and usability of the cloud-based platform,”pointed out Gabriel. “The feedback from our early partners and these conclusive results enabled us to continue developing our technology and successfully grow produce at commercial scale.”

For more details, the case studies on Sollum’s website provide useful information on the results of our research.