Daily Express - 07.08.2019

Daily Express Wednesday, August 7, 2019 35

DX1ST

AEROPONICS: Pioneer Guy

CHANGE is in the air for agriculture
as indoor farms developer LettUs
Grow breaks new ground with a
system that produces more plants,
more quickly, by growing their roots
only in a nutrient-rich mist.
A pioneer within the field known as
aeroponics, this air-based method
uses 95 per cent less water than con-
ventional farming.
It can also involve lower carbon
emissions compared to other soil-free
systems such as hydroponics, where
plants are dipped in enriched water.
LettUs’s patent-pending technology
is simpler and introduces more
consistency to aeroponics. while
maintaining yields,
explains managing direc-
tor Charlie Guy.
“We have developed a
very efficient way of
growing plants, from
leafy vegetables to soft
fruits,” he says.
“Our aeroponic sys-
tems are easier to use
than others on the market where
water is pushed through nozzles to
create an aerosol that can get clogged.
“Ours just needs a wipe down
and is modular so it can work with
operations of all sizes, from a single
layer to a whole unit.
“Ostara, our software management
can automate, control and collect data

from the operation. That integrated

approach makes aeroponics accessible

to anyone, enabling farmers around

the world to benefit from this game-

changing technology.”

The ticking clock is on

LettUs’s side – by 2050

it is estimated the world

must increase food

production by 70 per

cent to feed more than

nine billion people.

The Bristol-based

firm, founded in 2015 by

Guy, and fellow graduates Ben

Crowther and Jack Farmer, has a mis-

sion “to reduce the environmental

impact of fresh produce by allowing

anyone to grow food near its point of

consumption,” according to Guy.

“The past decade has been defined

by the environmental crisis, but now

food can be grown in the most

A future for farming

unstable of climates. Any building

can be converted into a farm with

millions of transport miles saved.”

Two big tech changes paved the

way for LettUs: cheaper, more

efficient LED lighting and cloud

computing to enable the harvesting of

big data. The firm’s tech matches light-

ing to roots to optimise growth and

precise delivery of nutrients tailored

to plant variety and stage of growth.

Systems are assembled in Bristol

and pay back for growers is estimated

to be less than five years. More than

£1 million of funding, both grants

from Government-backed Innovate

UK and private investment, has gone

into LettUs which sees potential

future uses for its technology contrib-

uting to the likes of reforestation

programmes.

After starting with laboratory

projects, such as research into plant-

based proteins and pharmaceuticals,

it is accelerating expansion selling to

growers and plans to raise more

investment this year.

The team of 15 is diverse. “Not just

engineers but ex-farmers and plant

scientists. All our kit is made by grow-

ers for growers,” Guy adds.

● lettusgrow.com

Enterprise Your Money

Maisha

Frost

MONEY

‘Growers

around the

world will

benefit’

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