Fotoniq secures €650K to advance greenhouse efficiency with next-generation PAR+ coating

Fotoniq has been awarded €650K under EIT Food’s Impact Funding Framework to further develop its innovative PAR+ coating technology. We heard from Willem Kesteloo, CEO and co-founder, about the award and collaboration with Catalyze towards the successful submission. 

“Through our EIT Food project, we can further scale up the manufacturability of our solution to enable widespread international adoption.” – Willem Kesteloo, CEO

Fotoniq’s PAR+: A Breakthrough in Greenhouse Efficiency

Fotoniq is a high-tech spin-off from Delft University of Technology, located in Delft near the Westland — one of the world’s most advanced greenhouse regions. Their mission is to enhance global food security by enabling growers to increase production in a sustainable way.

Fotoniq has developed PAR+, a patented spray coating that transforms greenhouse efficiency. By diffusing incoming sunlight evenly across the crop surface, PAR+ improves light penetration to lower leaves, reduces crop stress, and stabilizes greenhouse climate conditions. These advantages translate into higher yields while lowering the demand for heating and cooling by around three percent.

Equally important, PAR+ is designed for durability. Unlike seasonal coatings that must be applied and removed multiple times, PAR+ lasts at least eight years, reducing waste streams by a factor of ten. For growers, the economic benefits are significant: improved production efficiency, lower operational costs, and the potential to generate as much as €200K additional annual profit per hectare of greenhouse.

Fotoniq’s EIT Food project

With support from EIT Food’s Impact Funding Framework, Fotoniq will now advance PAR+ Version 2. The project aims to enhance manufacturability, ensuring the coating is scalable for widespread adoption, while also introducing new flexibility through on-site adjustments tailored to local weather conditions. In addition, the team will develop a Diffuse Light Manual to guide growers in optimizing their greenhouse settings and making the most of PAR+. Fotoniq is joined in the project by the University of Glasgow.

Willem explains, “Through our EIT Food project, we can further scale up the manufacturability of our solution to enable widespread international adoption. In parallel, we will collaborate closely with the University of Glasgow and greenhouse growers to optimise cultivation strategies that make the most of the improved daylight conditions inside greenhouses.”

“We are aiming to achieve an overall 10% efficiency gain for a commercially operating greenhouse, by improving the yield whilst lowering the energy and CO2 usage.”

Willem highlights the value of their project partners at the University of Glasgow:

“Their expertise and knowhow from the fundamental understanding of (diffuse) daylight effects on crops is unprecedented, and will help the project achieve the best outcome in terms of further optimising cultivation strategies under the improved diffuse daylight condition.”

By combining all of these developments in their EIT Food project, Fotoniq is set to strengthen its position as a global leader in greenhouse efficiency technologies. The project will also accelerate commercial traction both within and outside the EU, foster collaborations with growers and innovators worldwide, and unlock new revenue streams, further solidifying the company’s financial position.

Collaborating with Catalyze

For this project, Catalyze supported Fotoniq in the development of their successful submission to EIT Food’s Impact Funding Framework. The collaboration will continue, as Catalyze’s Project Management team is now providing support throughout the project.

“Catalyze’s in depth knowledge on our technology combined with their vast experience with grants in general — and EIT Food specifically —really stood out for us.”

Willem says, “Their added value made for a very smooth proces prior and during the application, and we are happy to continue the collaboration after the project was awarded.”

Societal and Environmental Impact

Greenhouses are central to the future of resilient and sustainable food production. By boosting yields while reducing energy and water use, Fotoniq’s technology directly addresses the challenge of feeding a rapidly growing population in the face of climate change.

The improved efficiency lowers costs for growers, supports economic stability in an industry often challenged by narrow margins, and reduces the environmental footprint of controlled environment agriculture.

In this way, Fotoniq contributes to long-term global food security while promoting sustainable resource use.

Learn more on Fotoniq’s website

Download our EIT Food Impact Funding Framework programme guide