Montréal-based Sollum Technologies, which provides smart lighting solutions to greenhouse growers, has closed a $30 million CAD financing round from a group of Québec investors that focus on funding solutions for sustainability.
Backers in this round include climate impact fund Idealist Capital, which led the investment with a $25 million (all numbers CAD) contribution, as well as Fondaction, which provided $5 million. Fondaction is a limited partner in Idealist Capital’s current climate fund.
Sollum said it has tested its LED lighting technology on over 50 varieties of produce and has clients across Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands.
Founded in 2014 by François Roy-Moisan, Gabriel Dupras and Jacques Poirier, Sollum’s LED grow light solution is designed to recreate the full spectrum of the sun’s natural light. The startup’s “sun-as-a-service” cloud platform allows growers to program their lighting’s dynamic spectra and intensity remotely, in real-time.
Sollum’s platform also uses artificial intelligence, enabling infinite multi-zone light management to cultivate several varieties of fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of produce in the same greenhouse. To promote variety, Sollum has developed a library of “light recipes,” which are particular modulations of the full spectrum of the sun’s natural light cycle according to the fruit or vegetable and the location of the greenhouse.
According to Sollum, it has tested its LED lighting technology on over 50 varieties of produce and has clients that currently operate across Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands.
RELATED: Sollum secures $2.5 million from SDTC to jumpstart $14 million “Sun-as-a-Service” project
This capital contribution, according to Sollum CEO Louis Brun, will allow the company to “enhance the competitiveness and flexibility” of its solution through the addition of a multitude of spectral recipes.
Sollum has previously received grants from federal and provincial government agencies to showcase its lighting solution for greenhouse crops. In 2022, the company secured $2.5 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada to jumpstart a $14 million demonstration project to use Sollum’s lighting systems for the benefit of producing greenhouse tomatoes. Later that year, Sollum also secured a $350,000 grant from Investissement Québec for its technological showcase involving strawberry production in greenhouses.
Featured image from Sollum Technologies.
