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UbiQD and Nanosys Partner to Improve Greenhouse Crop Yields

UbiQD and Nanosys Partner to Improve Greenhouse Crop Yields

UbiQD, Inc., an advanced materials company powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security, and Nanosys, Inc., the quantum dot manufacturing leader, announced today that they have agreed to partner on the development and manufacturing of UbiGro® luminescent greenhouse films.

Installed above plants in a greenhouse, UbiGro is a layer of light that helps plants get more from the sun, leading to an improvement in crop yield. UbiGro uses fluorescence to create a more optimal light spectrum for crops, converting under-utilized portions of sunlight to more photosynthetically efficient orange light that plants crave. Over the last two years, early adopters and greenhouse technology institutes have tried and tested UbiGro. These pilot customers in the US and Europe have seen encouraging results, including higher production yields and improved harvests. With increasing customer demand, UbiQD began looking for options to ramp-up production. Nanosys, having demonstrated quantum dot’s scalability in the display industry, was a natural partner.

“The greenhouse cover films market produces twenty times more area than the display industry and continues to grow in double digits on an annual basis,” said Jason Hartlove, CEO of Nanosys. “Greenhouses represent a massive opportunity for the unique benefits of quantum dot technology to improve crop production. We look forward to working with UbiQD to bring UbiGro® to market with our industry-leading scale, cost-effectiveness, and highest quality manufacturing standards.”

Nanosys brings its large-scale manufacturing technologies for quantum dots and films, proven in the display market, to help UbiQD address the massive greenhouse market for UbiGro®, estimated to be over 50 billion ft2 globally. Through this partnership, the technology inside the latest TVs from top brands will soon help boost the world’s food supply by making greenhouse farming more efficient and contributing to improvement in crop yield.

“The success of Nanosys in the display industry has inspired many of us working to bring advanced materials to market,” said Hunter McDaniel, UbiQD Founder and CEO. “We plan to leverage Nanosys’ deep domain experience in quantum dot end-product integration, as well as their manufacturing scale, to accelerate our deployment of sustainable quantum dots into agriculture and advance greenhouse technologies.”

UbiQD is leading the way towards sun-powered spectrum optimization in controlled environment agriculture. With the UbiQD and Nanosys partnership, UbiGro® is set to become more accessible and widely deployed in the global greenhouse industry, aiming for significant improvement in crop yield and to improve crop production through advanced greenhouse technologies.

About UbiQD, Inc.

UbiQD is an advanced materials company powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security. Our novel quantum dots enable industry leaders to harness the power of light. Our first product, UbiGro, is a layer of light that uses fluorescence to create a more optimal greenhouse spectrum for crops, contributing to the improvement in crop yield. Headquartered in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the company is licensing technology developed at leading research institutions, including Los Alamos National Laboratory and MIT. To learn more, please visit: https://www.ubiqd.com and https://ubigro.com.

About Nanosys, Inc.

Nanosys, Inc. is the leader in developing and delivering state-of-the-art heavy metal free quantum dot technology to the display industry. As of 2020, industry leading consumer electronics brands have shipped more than 20 million devices from tablets to monitors and TVs based on Nanosys’ proprietary quantum dot technology. Founded in 2001, the company is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California where it operates the world’s largest quantum dot nanomaterials fab. Nanosys currently owns or has exclusive license rights to more than 470 issued and pending patents worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.nanosysinc.com/.

Media Contact

Kat Brown
Jones-Dilworth, Inc.
713-498-3643
[email protected]

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Hunter McDaniel CEO & Founder UbiGro

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.

Meet The Team

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.

Meet The Team

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.

Meet The Team

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.”

Meet The Team

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.”

Meet The Team

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].

Meet The Team

Mike Burrows, PhD

VP of Business Development

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.

Meet The Team

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.