Illumitex in joint research and business development agreement with Syngenta

AUSTIN, USA: Illumitex Inc., developer of high-brightness LEDs and emerging LED technology, has entered into a joint research and business development relationship with Syngenta. Through the alliance, Syngenta will utilize Illumitex’s patented LED technology to develop next generation growing protocols in plant growth research projects in controlled environments such as greenhouses and indoor growth chambers.

By coupling Illumitex’s precision beam control with the capability of customizing the light spectrum, Illumitex is enabling widespread adoption of LED lighting for use in the global horticulture market.

Illumitex’s horticulture lighting systems also provide dynamic wavelength control to further regulate plant growth, while the Digital Distribution beam technology results in unrivalled light quality on the plants. Joint collaboration projects to improve plant production processes in Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States are scheduled to begin in Q3 2011. Additional projects are currently being planned around the world.

“With this business development partnership, Illumitex continues to solidify our position as the worldwide leader in LED lighting systems for horticulture applications,” said Matt Thomas, CEO of Illumitex. “While once thought to be a small niche of the LED revolution, the horticulture segment is now an extremely relevant application for solid-state lighting. Our joint research and business development partnership with Syngenta demonstrates the viability of our products, technology and expertise on a global scale.”

“As an LED manufacturer, Illumitex has solved the two previous impediments to successfully utilizing LED lighting in horticulture applications: color uniformity on the plants and cost per delivered photon,” said Jon Campbell, Syngenta’s Head of Partnerships and Scouting for the Lawn & Garden business. “The combination of Illumitex’s LED technology and Syngenta’s deep understanding of plants will enable the development of integrated customer solutions to deliver better plants, more efficiently,” Campbell added.

In conjunction with the collaboration, Syngenta Ventures, the venture capital arm of Syngenta, has made an investment in Illumitex Inc. as part of the company’s latest round of private funding. The funds will be used to assist Illumitex with continued LED technology research and development, as well as to expand the sales and marketing efforts of existing products.