LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Controlled-environment agriculture and contract electronics technology company Light Science Technologies updated the market on its contract with Zenith Nurseries on Friday, to develop a cloche lighting and sensor technology system.
The AIM-traded firm announced that the project's first milestone, 'Gateway 1', to develop the cloche lighting system and demonstrate viability, was now complete, resulting in revenue of £51k for the group.

It explained that the project was broken into four 'gateways', specified to prototype, develop, and commercialise the offering.

Following the success of the first gateway, the customer had redefined its near-term priorities in response to ongoing energy and import conditions, and to increase focus on the lighting element of the rolling cloche

That would place further emphasis on growing more indoors, mitigating the impact of "unpredictable and extreme" weather conditions and climate change, with a view to increasing yields and extending the growing season.

As a result, Light Science said the project gateways had been reordered, bringing the first phase of 'Gateway 4' forward.

The phase was now set to proceed before the second and third gateways, and would incorporate the rolling cloche device within new polytunnels.

Light Science said the phase was expected to start in the first half of 2023, with potential revenues of around £1.9m.

The company said it was also exploring new potential revenue-generating additions to the cloche design, in order to make the units more self-sufficient in terms of energy usage, using solar power and batteries.

It said the overall time scale and potential contract value of £13.84m remained unchanged.

Additionally, the company said it would now take full responsibility for the development of the harvesting elements alongside specialist contractors, which meant that the value of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grant receivable by the group had increased to £0.62m for the project.

As it announced on 15 February, the grant was awarded by UKRI as part of its 'Farming Initiative Pathway' consortium for more sustainable and efficient plant growth in the UK agricultural sector.

"We are delighted with the progress made on the project and the agility of our relationship with Zenith Nurseries, which has allowed a reordering of workflow to bring forward part of Gateway 4," said founder and chief executive officer Simon Deacon.

"The cloche lighting and sensor technology system is as exciting as it is innovative."

Deacon said that, with applications across multiple plant varieties, the firm believed there would be "significant demand" for the solution, as food security became progressively more crucial in a changing world.

"Importantly, given the numerous issues associated with climate change, which have and will severely impact growing conditions, our solutions enable growers to produce crops more locally, all year round."

At 1123 BST, shares in Light Science Technologies Holdings were up 16.33% at 6.98p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.

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