Lyon-based RED Horticulture raises €17M to put the ‘green’ in greenhouses using LED lights; here’s how

Lyon, France-based RED Horticulture, a company specialised in LED solutions for greenhouse operations and research centres, announced on Tuesday that it has closed €17M in a Series A round of funding.

The round was led by the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Demeter IM, and Unigrains. 

Part of the financing comes from a banking pool (BPI, BNP Paribas, CIC, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale) and support programs from BPI. 

RED Horticulture has announced that it plans to use the funds to develop advanced lighting strategies in collaboration with its customers and innovation partners. 

The company will also support internal research at its agronomy centre, the Photobiology & Agronomic Research Centre (PARC), in Nantes, France. 

Additionally, the company will utilise the capital to increase the acceptance of the RED solution in all growing market segments.

Louis GOLAZ, CEO, states, “Since its establishment, RED Horticulture has experienced impressive growth in an intensely competitive market. We have consistently believed in the unique advantages of our dynamic lighting solution, characterized by its user-friendliness, unparalleled flexibility, and unmatched scalability, which has continuously set us apart in the industry.”

RED Horticulture: Providing innovative LED lighting solutions

Founded in 2018 by Yassine EL QOMRI and Louis GOLAZ, RED Horticulture offers the world’s most intelligent LED solution for greenhouse operations and research centres. 

The company contributes to more sustainable agriculture through new lighting technologies. 

RED Horticulture’s solution uses dynamic spectrum LED lights that precisely activate the photoreceptors of plants in greenhouses and are controlled via the AI-powered proprietary platform MyRED. 

RED Horticulture’s lighting strategy helps growers reduce energy consumption, increase yields, shorten crop development times, and produce high-quality crops. 

By providing the right light at the right time, growers can achieve higher yields, better crop quality and save energy resources.

According to the case studies, strawberry growers have increased yields by 35 per cent and reduced the time from sowing to harvesting their crop by 20 per cent. 

At the same time, young plant breeders have reduced energy consumption by up to 60 per cent and achieved better crop morphology using RED Horticulture’s lighting strategy. 

The investor

European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) invests in deep tech companies that support the transition to a sustainable and bio-based circular economy. 

Stéphane Roussel, Partner at ECBF, says, “Controlled environment agriculture (which includes greenhouses) is poised to grow fast because of the many advantages it offers: producing healthy and nutritious crops close to where they are consumed while using less soil and water, and with reduced usage of chemicals. We were impressed by the boldness and vision of RED’s founding team to offer a solution that optimizes light like any other greenhouse input. Leveraging its strong agronomic expertise, RED allows growers to automate their operations further and optimize for what matters to them (yield, energy, product quality).”