LED lighting applied to plant factories is not a new concept. 2-3 years ago, international first-tier manufacturers Philips and OSRAM started to invest in plant factories that are equipped with LED lighting and excellent environmental control, and Japan has also been developing this business for quite some time. LEDinside indicated that since public and commercial LED lighting are becoming more mature, plant factories may become the next target of LED lighting manufacturers from Europe, the US, Japan, and Taiwan. Viewing the success of this business as a political achievement, the Chinese government has greatly encouraged LED manufacturers to invest in plant factories.
LED lighting builds advanced plant factory technology
According to LEDinside, LED lighting technology has been greatly improved in 2012 and 2013, and recently more manufacturers have started to apply LED to agricultural lighting applications. In other words, plant factories supported by LED light source and environmental control methods have become a niche market to many first-tier manufacturers. LED lighting could shorten the harvest period of crops, plants, and flowers, and a proper environmental control could prevent pest damage without using pesticides; this not only enhances food safety, but also increases the value of agricultural products. In addition, LED lighting products requires less electricity than traditional fluorescent tubes and halogen lamps –another factor that may increase benefit. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that LED based-plant factories are the solution to agricultural problems (such as dense population and pollution).
Taiwanese manufacturer Everlight’s LED plant-growing light
Will Chinese LED manufacturers receive subsidy?
In a large market like China, plant factories will be able to bring significant profit; many manufacturers have already begun to invest in this business and bid on related projects, and local governments have also announced policies to promote the development of plant factories. Though this business is mainly aimed towards political goals instead of each factory’s actual capacity, manufacturers still believe that they may receive subsidy due to the government’s attitude towards the development of LED based-plant factories. Since the Chinese government has previously issued a considerable amount of subsidy to MOCVD industries, rumors regarding the amount of subsidy for plant factories have spread among LED manufacturers. In addition to Chinese and Taiwanese LED manufacturers, international first-tier LED manufacturers and Japanese dealers have also been developing this innovative business and hoping to acquire a larger market share in the future.
LEDinside discovered that Taiwan’s LED lighting development is faster than that of China. Plant factories have become one of the main themes in the 2013 Photonics Festival in Taiwan, and a large number of LED manufacturers, plant factory project managers, as well as agricultural industries have all participated in this event. It is obvious that this innovative application market has become more popular among industries. In Taiwan, the development of plant factories is promoted by Agriculture, Fishery, and Livestock Association of Led Taiwan; they plan to cooperate with LED manufacturers and enhance the penetration rate of LED lighting. Other than the upcoming Photonics Festival in Taiwan, the field demonstration of plant factories in June will also be a great opportunity to show all business fields the success of Taiwanese LED based-plant factories.
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Author: LEDinside pinchun.chou
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