Recipient Organization
UBIQD INC
134 EASTGATE DR
LOS ALAMOS,NM 87544
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This project aims todevelop a color-changing glass glazing material for greenhouses that will impact greenhouse farmers by improving crop yields and quality. The technology has been proven already in plastic greenhouse coverings. Based on non-toxic nanocrystals called quantum dots (QDs) developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, these glazing materials glow orange or red, such that the color spectrum of sunlight is improved inside the grenehouse.The project objectives for this Phase I project are: 1) Develop glowing (photoluminescent) laminated glass prototypes that optimize the spectrum of sunlight for increased yields for glass greenhouse growers and 2) Quantify the yield improvements due to the modified spectrum for greenhouse-grown lettuce, a crop increasingly grown in controlled environments in the US.If successful, the plant study and prototype development conducted in Phase I will demonstrate improved crop yields under the enhanced agricultural glass and offer greenhouse growers an alternative for yield enhancement to expensive and electricity-consuming supplemental lighting options. A successful Phase I project will serve as a foundation for Phase II-III efforts, where the color-changing glass products can be scaled to meet the large greenhouse demand ($21B market in 2017, where 30% of U.S. greenhouses are of glass construction) and become a commercial product. Through its yield improvements, the QD-glass products will enhance commercial greenhouse horticulture production in the U.S.
Animal Health Component
20%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
20%
Developmental
70%
Goals / Objectives
This project begins thedevelopment of a quantum dot (QD)-enhanced glass façadeproduct. The ultimate goal for this project is to directly incorporate the QDs into a laminated glass panel, which could be used in place of existing glass façade panels for greenhouse farmers.A plant study on greenhouse-grown lettuce is proposed to assess the effects of the altered spectrum on plant growth and development.The project objectives for this Phase I project are: 1) Develop QD-infused laminated glass prototypes that optimize the spectrum of sunlight for increased yields for glass greenhouse growers and 2) Quantify the yield improvements due to the modified spectrum for greenhouse-grown lettuce, a crop increasingly grown in controlled environments in the US.A successful Phase I project would be the foundation for a larger Phase II project, where UbiQD would focus on commercializing the product by scaling up manufacturing and incorporating their glass products into real greenhouses for large-scale pilot trials with academic and commercial greenhouse growers for different crops like strawberry, tomatoes, cucumber or peppers. If successful, these pilot projects would be converted into the first customers for the glass products and provide data to help market and sell the product to future customers.
Project Methods
The main focus of this Phase I SBIR project will be on proving the feasibility of the technology as a solution for glass-covered greenhouses. This will be accomplished by optimizing the manufacturing of QD-enhanced glass panels to have equal, or improved, optical properties compared to the UbiGro retrofit greenhouse films, and then testing how the modified light spectra affect plant production compared to a control in a greenhouse plant study. If successful, developing the QD-glass prototypes and the data collected from the plant study conducted in Phase I (seeTechnical ObjectivesandWork Planbelow) will demonstrate improved crop yields under the QD-enhanced agricultural glass. Differences in plant growth between crops under the QD-glass vs under a control glass will be quantified.