CarbonLED: carbon footprint reduction via LED based production systems

Reducing the carbon footprint of greenhouse horticulture

Over the last decades, the use of assimilation lighting in greenhouse horticulture has increased by 10% per year to fulfill the demands of the market of year-round high quality products. The LED technology revolution creates a unique opportunity to realize LED-based production systems which can reduce the carbon footprint by up to 45% compared to conventional High Pressure Sodium lamps.

In this project, after a Pathfinder stage, we will realize the crucial elements of a low-carbon LED based production system, i.e. new lamp types, selection of tomato genotypes and design of the cultivation system. By using state-of-the-art 3D crop models and demonstration trials, we will show that this concept is feasible to be used in practice, with scalable climate impact.

The commitment of the business partners and the strong partnership with leading knowledge institutes will lead to market adoption of superior LED-based systems in greenhouse horticulture by providing a combination of breakthrough energy-efficient LED systems, new varieties, consultancy and knowledge transfer. This generates new business for the partners Philips and Bayer CropScience and for new or existing SME’s in the areas of implementation of LED systems, consultancy and advice to growers.