"We can develop even more efficient lighting strategies from our new research center"

"The opening of PARC marks a new chapter in RED's history," said Louis Golaz, CEO and co-founder of RED Horticulture, earlier this month while opening their Photobiology and Agronomy Research Center (PARC) earlier this month in Nantes, France. The company's LED light solutions, designed in France, enable the real-time control of light recipes depending on the crop variety, developmental stage, and energy price fluctuations. The aim of RED with these solutions is to consume better in order to produce better.

According to Louis, the largest French and Dutch seedling growers, high-wire crops, seedlings, and medicinal plants are already using RED's products and services. "This research and development center will allow us to develop even more efficient lighting strategies that meet the needs of farmers and seed producers."

Indoor growing environments
Currently, PARC features four independent indoor growing environments on high wire and vertical floors and 200 square meters of ultra-precision experiments. By 2027, RED Horticulture aims to further grow and develop in terms of cultivation area with the construction, in two phases, of a phytotron consisting of 12 high-wire or vertical floor growing rooms to reach 2500 square meters of experimentation. The company also plans to build 1500 square meters of professional horticultural greenhouses linked to the growing spaces.

"The establishment of PARC in Nantes made sense," explained Yassine El Qomri, president and co-founder of RED Horticulture. "This way, we are closer to French producers and their needs. Our ambition is to make PARC the place where the know-how of the local ecosystem is exchanged through training, demonstrations, and visits."

The teams will use the knowledge and scientific data acquired at PARC to assist professionals in their daily use of photobiology through thematic training within PARC on the interaction between light and crop for crop advisers, cooperatives, farmers, and teachers. The center will also offer a research platform and collaborative space for new technologies and promote exchange between professionals through roundtable discussions and visits with local and international partners.

RED Horticulture offers turnkey solutions for lighting strategies, including a range of RED T fixtures with four independently controllable and intensity-adjustable wavelengths, a RED SENSE sensor system (natural sunlight, temperature, humidity, CO2), and the MyRED central computer, which can be operated through a mobile application to select the most suitable lighting strategy based on sensor data, cultivation stage, and energy price. The company also provides personalized support by a team of agronomists specializing in photobiology.