A Los Alamos startup’s quantum dots that emit red LED lights could rake in plenty of green for greenhouse growers.
That’s according to the global market research firm Frost & Sullivan, which this month bestowed its 2019 New Product Innovation Award on UbiGro®, a new window film for greenhouses created by New Mexico-based Ubiquitous Quantum Dots, or UbiQD Inc.
Frost & Sullivan called UbiGro a “first-ever product” that offers a “huge disruption” in the greenhouse lighting industry by providing producers with a low-cost, drop-in solution to substantially accelerate plant growth and increase crop yields, showcasing how to boost plant growth.
“UbiQD’s reliable product has fascinated customers by providing a leading-edge, but simple-to-deploy, technology that tailors the natural light spectrum to perfectly support crop health, dramatically improving both the growth cycle and production rate,” said Frost & Sullivan in its report explaining the award, highlighting its potential to improve crop production.
That’s a huge endorsement for a small New Mexico startup that launched in 2014 with technology licensed from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The company uses a low-cost, nontoxic process for making quantum dots, which are tiny, three-dimensional structures that manipulate light in unique ways. They’re used in everything from transistors and sunscreen to LCD televisions, tablets and smart phones.
UbiQD has been developing quantum dots as a window coating that captures sunlight, then channels the photons to photovoltaic cells on window frames to turn everyday windows into solar electric generators.
While exploring window coatings for greenhouse generation, the company began to consider helping growers improve crop production, since quantum dots can be structured to specifically emit red LED lights.
That grew into UbiGro, which the company released in November 2018 as its first commercial product.
UbiGro film, which users install above plants in a greenhouse, shifts sunshine into a red-light emitting spectrum that mimics late-summer sun year-round. That’s considered the most potent time of year for plants, because they sense winter coming and grow faster.
Coinciding with the Frost & Sullivan award, UbiQD released its first full study this month of results from pilot projects at commercial greenhouses in New Mexico, California and Oregon.
The study showed that UbiGro helped boost tomato yields at Growing Opportunities Farm, which operates a hydroponic greenhouse in Alcalde, by 20.5%. This demonstrates how to boost plant growth effectively.
It boosted cannabis production at Little Hill Cultivators farm in Trinity County, California, by 5.4%, and by 7.7% at Frontier Farms, a licensed recreational cannabis farm in Hood River, Oregon.
“We partnered with expert growers in their respective markets to validate the benefit of the UbiGro product, and these first studies illustrate their success,” said UbiGro chief product officer Matt Bergren.
The study also estimated the impact on revenue and profits from the increased yields demonstrated in the pilot projects, taking into account the cost of UbiGro film, red LED lights, and the extra labor and marketing efforts needed to handle higher plant yields.
Extrapolating the data out annually with UbiGro applied throughout the entire greenhouse, the study projected an extra $15,247 in increased tomato yields for the Alcalde operation, meaning an additional $12,807 in annual net profit.
For the California cannabis operation, that came to $12,600 more in annual revenue if UbiGro was used throughout the single greenhouse that housed the original pilot project, with $8,170 in additional net profit. But if the farm adopted the UbiGro technology across all six of its greenhouses and the yield improvement demonstrated in the pilot remained consistent, it would generate $49,000 in additional annual net profit.
For the Oregon farm, which operates 40 greenhouses, UbiGro use on all operations could yield $320,000 per year in additional profits, according to the study, showcasing how to boost plant growth and improve crop production effectively.
“The payback time for installing UbiGro is less than a year for all these operations,” said UbiQD founder and CEO Hunter McDaniel, who helped develop the quantum dot technology as a postdoc at LANL. “Taking everything into account, we think the study shows it’s a slam dunk investment in red LED lights to improve crop production.”
UbiQD has additional on-site trials in other states and countries, including Spain and the Netherlands, to demonstrate how to boost plant growth.
“We have more than 30 trials underway,” McDaniel said. “Growers are data-minded – they want to see how new technology will impact profitability – and we’re validating the benefits with growers around the world.”
The company has moved into large scale production, with economies of scale allowing it to lower the cost for UbiGro this month from $10 per square foot when it launched last year to $3 now. That will help customers achieve the promised payback time of less than one grow season, Bergren said.
The company makes its quantum dot coating at a 9,000-square-foot facility in Los Alamos. A subcontract manufacturer produces the UbiGro rolls.
“We’re pushing into more aggressive sales and marketing given the new validating data we just released,” McDaniel said. “We’re focused now on engaging as many growers as we can to gain commercial traction and show them how to boost plant growth.”
UbiQD is still developing its electric-generating window coating, which it expects to deploy in pilot projects next year.
The company currently employs 13 people. To date, it has received $6.5 million in grants and private investment.
Its UbiGro product, which utilizes red LED lights, won the South by Southwest pitch competition in Austin last March, showcasing its potential to improve crop production.
Its UbiGro product won the South by Southwest pitch competition in Austin last March.
NM startup’s quantum dots offer huge boost in plant productivity
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Hunter McDaniel, PhD
Founder & CEO
Hunter earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, before joining Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Chemistry Division. Ultimately the value proposition of UbiGro is about boosting crop yields and quality without the cost or energy impact of lighting. Hunter has more than fifty publications and patents, and more than 2000 total citations, h-index: 20. Hunter fundamentally believes that novel materials underpin every significant technology advancement, and he is focused on leveraging new materials to have a lasting and sustainable impact.
Damon Hebert, PhD
Director of Agriculture
Damon brings a wide range of experience in agriculture, materials science, spectroscopy, and small business. During his time in Prof. Angus Rockett’s research group at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Hebert authored a doctoral thesis and multiple papers on the materials science of CIGS semiconductor materials, which is closely related to the materials developed at UbiQD. He also served as a consultant to Nanosolar, a CIGS nanocrystal solar cell manufacturing company. Hebert has industry experience having co-founded Dr. Jolly’s, a leading cultivation and distribution operation in Bend, OR.
Tania Lafaille
Sales Representative
Tania is a UbiGro Sales Representative, with over 7 years of experience in product sales (specifically berries and avocados) covering all of North America and parts of South America. While in agriculture, Tania has cultivated strong relationships with growers and distributors, granting her a unique insight into both perspectives. That understanding, paired with her fierce dedication to results, drives her fun and fiery commitment to her craft. Tania is based in Gilroy, CA.
Tyler Veyna
Sales Representative
Tyler brings 15 years of experience in Greenhouse production and facility management of a wide range of crops in multiple states to the UbiGro team. Based in Salinas, California. “Being a fourth-generation farmer, I look to improve and empower the grower, and with UbiGro, we can do just that.”
Jim Gideon
Sales Manager
Jim Gideon is an UbiGro Sales Manager, with over 25 years of greenhouse industry sales experience covering all of North America. Previously Jim has worked for Green Tek, Plazit-Polygal, Texel, Cherry Creek, and Nexus. He is based in Montgomery, AL, and Jim believes that “light is everything to the grower.”
Eric Moody
Director of Sales
Eric Moody is UbiQD’s Director of UbiGro Sales. Eric has more than 6 years of experience in horticulture lighting industry, building relationships with greenhouse growers of all sizes and crops on optimal lighting for their growing operation, and most recently managed a North American sales team for PL Light Systems. Overall, Eric has been in sales leadership positions for more than 13 years. Eric brings with him a great understanding of the market and available technologies for growers, greenhouse facilities, and sales leadership. Reach Eric by phone at 541-490-6421 or by email at [email protected].
Mike Burrows, PhD
Dr. Michael Burrows is UbiQd’s Vice President of Business Development. His educational background includes a Materials Science doctorate from the University of Delaware and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. His career has specialized in the commercialization of novel electronic materials in venture-run programs for different industries including solar, biosensors, and the automotive industry. In both start-up and corporate environments, he has extensive experience in global market development, foraging supply chain partnerships, productization, and brand building. He is currently leading UbiQD’s partnership efforts in luminescent greenhouse technology, smart windows, and security ventures.
Matt Bergern, PhD
Cheif Product Officer
As Chief Product Officer at UbiQD, Dr. Matt Bergren leads the company’s product development efforts, sales, and product manufacturing, including the company’s first commercial agriculture product, UbiGro. He plays a critical role in continuing the company’s path of technology development and vision of powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security.
He serves as the principal investigator for UbiQD’s contract with NASA, focused on tailoring the solar spectrum for enhanced crop production for space missions. Dr. Bergren’s leadership experience includes serving on the board of directors for the New Mexico Energy Manufacturing Institute, focused on job creation in New Mexico’s energy, and related manufacturing community.