Fluence and HortiPolaris, a Beijing, China-based greenhouse producing 20 varieties of tomatoes and eight types of lettuce, have implemented Fluence LED lighting solutions into HortiPolaris’s cultivation and research facility.
HortiPolaris is a science and technology leader in the region, standing on the cutting edge of farming and education in booming Beijing where the population and demand for fresh, quality produce continues to grow. Its state-of-the-art greenhouse—inspired by the founder’s work in the Netherlands—represents the future of controlled environment agriculture, housing 2,000 square meters of lettuce and 22,850 square meters of tomatoes. HortiPolaris originally equipped its farm with HPS lighting, but found energy costs were too high for a market that valued quality over yield, prompting the company to switch to LED lighting systems that provide crop consistency, energy efficiency and seasonal cultivation flexibility for growers.
“We can use LEDs not only in the winter period, but also in the spring, autumn and even summer to increase yield and stabilize quality,” said Dan Xu, founder and general manager of HortiPolaris. “We are carrying out trials together with Fluence to figure out the best combination of light intensity and light spectrum in order to increase the neutral level to maximize margin and to differentiate ourselves in the market.”
HortiPolaris distributes a variety of popular tomato and lettuce cultivars to local and regional markets and leverages Fluence’s broad-spectrum VYPR LED lighting solutions in its greenhouse and Fluence’s RAZR LED solutions in HortiPolaris’s vertical propagation racks.
“Transitioning from HPS lighting to Fluence LED solutions affords growers a way to improve the quality of their produce such as color and consistency—critical factors shoppers in the growing Beijing region are prioritizing,” said David Cohen, CEO of Fluence. “We are proud to partner with HortiPolaris, an innovator and evolved horticulture leader in the rapidly expanding Chinese market, that recognizes the advantages of LED technology developmentally for crops’ growing cycles and also operationally in facility design.”
Applying Fluence’s LED lighting solutions provides growers better control over plants’ external variables such as temperature and humidity, eliminating once-crucial concerns about overheating as a result of growing under HPS lighting.
“There are several advantages to Fluence lighting solutions,” said Yuchong Chen, technical assistant at HortiPolaris. “Not only can they provide maximum light intensity, but they also allow us to control intensity for different growing stages. Additionally, the uniform light the RAZR fixtures provide is quite important for grafting. That’s why we use Fluence LED lighting solutions in all seasons to increase yield and stabilize the quality of our grow.”
Fluence’s partnership with HortiPolaris bolsters the farm’s ability to harvest quality produce and supply the market year-round. The companies’ ongoing trials to discover optimum lighting strategies for unique cultivation environments are charting the course for the future of innovative food production that will ultimately help the world grow smarter.
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