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Case StudiesPhilips GreenPower LEDproduction and researchmoduleLED4CROPS at STCCity FarmingProjectLED4CROPS at StockbridgeTechnology Centre (STC)SectorResearch instituteCropMultiple cropsLocationYorkshire,UKSolutionPhilips GreenPower LEDproduction module andPhilips GreenPower LEDresearch modulePhilips LED Horti partnerCambridgeHOKA number of factors are drivingsignificant change in the world of foodproduction. The idea of ‘sustainableintensification’ is a relatively simpleconcept aimed at maximizingproduction efficiency in terms ofexternal resource input on the smallestnecessary land area. LED technologycan make a decisive contribution towardthis goal. The STC board has invested inthe development of an applied R&Dfacility, LED4CROPS, in partnership withPhilips Horticulture LED Solutions andCambridge-HOK. The new LED4CROPSfacility is housed within a 200 m 2building and has over 40 benches withLED lights in a multitier array. This all toenable light spectrum adjustment andflexibility, for growing a range of lowlevel crops such as herbs, leafy salads,flowers, strawberries and plants inpropagation. STC science director DrMartin McPherson is enthusiastic: ‘LEDtechnology opens the door to theconcept of urban farming. You can growcrops in multi-storey warehouses, closeto point of consumption’. LEDs will offergrowers great flexibility, he adds. ‘Youcan schedule the crops. If you want tobring them on, you can do so. If youwant to slow them down, you canreduce power.’ According to hiscolleague, STC CEO Graham Ward, theprospects for growers are bright: ‘Anormal lettuce grower can produce fivecrops a year. With this system, we cangrow fifteen’.ResultsTo deliver applied research andtechnology transfer to growers“LED technology opens the doorto the concept of urban farming.”30 Philips Horticulture LED Solutions - General booklet