“Fluence is More than a Lighting Manufacturer” Fluence about Cultivation for Compounds Consortium

Published on 12/09/2023

Welcome back to our Cultivation for Compounds (CfC) consortium article series! For the September release, we contacted Fluence, the consortium’s lighting manufacturer. Before we begin, for our new readers, the CfC is a four-year research and representation program dedicated to cannabis cultivation. This article is the fifth of this series.

Fluence was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2013 by forward-thinking entrepreneurs Nick Klase and Randy Johnson. In 2018, Munich-based lighting manufacturer OSRAM acquired the company. This acquisition combined Fluence’s proven leadership in LED-based horticulture lighting systems with OSRAM’s expertise in lighting technologies, sensors, and connectivity.

Fluence further empowered growers worldwide to adopt scalable and highly profitable cultivation models. These models tapped into Fluence’s industry-leading research, products, and horticultural expertise. In 2022, the company entered a new phase of growth. With the acquisition of Fluence by Signify, a global leader in lighting. Operating as a business unit within Signify’s Digital Solutions division. Fluence is reaching new heights in sustainable horticulture innovation, enabling growers to achieve more efficient and productive economies of scale.

Sebastian Olschowski represents Fluence in the Cultivation for Compounds consortium. He works as a Research Project Manager at Fluence. Where he conceptualises and coordinates advanced research projects and grower trials across the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). He uses innovative lighting technology and the latest laboratory methods to drive these efforts. Sebastian specialises in studying how plants respond to different light spectra and intensities. He brings over 10 years of experience across research and practical applications in ornamental crops, leafy greens, vegetables, and medicinal plants, including cannabis

Fluence’s company mission is to enhance the interaction between light and life, yielding a healthier and more sustainable world. To achieve this, Fluence creates lighting solutions for controlled-environment commercial crop production. Nevertheless, Sebastian stressed that Fluence offers more than ‘just’ manufacturing lights; “We are not only a lighting manufacturer, and this especially applies when we talk about research. We are uniquely rigorous in our scientific experimental design and analysis that lead to the development of our products.

By implementing established and formalised scientific research methods. We develop a far stronger understanding of how to optimise light for a given crop or production objective than what would otherwise be possible, and what is typical in the industry. We share a wealth of knowledge with our partners and customers, drawing on our experiences from the past few years. For example, in the CfC, we did not just install the lights and leave them as they were.

We also provide guidance on how to acclimate the plants, how to adjust light levels over time, and how to optimise irrigation and fertilisation strategies, which is especially important when working with very high light intensities, as in this consortium. That is why we are not ‘just’ selling lights, but also sharing knowledge and applying the special skills and experience of everyone in our team.”

We wondered what led to Fluence’s interest in joining the CfC. Sebastian shared about the past experiences of Fluence with cannabis. He mentiones that already in 2018, they started with cannabis research in the EMEA region. “There are multiple reasons why Fluence decided to join this long-term project,” explained Fluence shortly. It is a combination of research, knowledge expansion, showcasing solutions for growers, and marketing reasons. The longer explanation reveals some interesting facts.

Sebastian explained the thoughts behind their research question, the CfC is conducted in a greenhouse. Since unlike fully indoor facilities, in greenhouses, growers are unaccustomed to extremely high light intensities. Light intensity influences both yield in cannabis production and the compound content achieved over a year-round growing cycle. In greenhouses, however, high light intensities remain uncommon. Current levels typically reach a maximum of 600–800 µmol/m²/s. This range is considered standard by Fluence. By adding 50% and increasing the intensity to 1200 µmol/m²/s.

Fluence expects a significant increase in yield, which will also result in a corresponding rise in the compounds produced. Fluence installed the VYPR fixtures for the CfC, using a spectrum called R4, which is a broad white spectrum. Sebastian mentioned that it is a standard spectrum that helps growers achieve high yields. Without risking photobleaching or other factors that might negatively impact quality or consistency. “In the end, we want to find out if having higher light intensities in the greenhouse can lead to year-round constant production regarding yield and compounds, and next to this, we also wanted to showcase our light solutions.”

In addition to that, Sebastian emphasised the importance of CfC being accessible to tour groups. He demonstrated the work carried out within the consortium and highlighted the World Horti Centre exhibition. Sebastian added, “We are interested in showcasing our knowledge as well.” All these efforts aim toward a clear goal. Sebastian explained: “To produce reliable results that we can share with growers and demonstrate that this consortium includes excellent partners who know what they’re doing.”

This led us to the next question. We wanted to know if Fluence experienced any struggles during the CfC and how they were solved. Sebastian reflected, “As with almost every new project which starts in a newly equipped facility, one can expect struggles, and the CfC consortium faced them as well.

The first few attempts at starting something new are usually treated as learning phases. They help determine how to operate the facility properly. This includes managing the environment—such as temperature, CO₂, humidity, irrigation, and fertilisation. It also involves general crop maintenance, hygiene procedures, harvesting, and drying processes. Internal and external communication about the mission is also established during this phase.

As the CfC team, we are on a good path, continually improving. By learning with every new cycle how to effectively deal with circumstances in the facility. Us being thorough in that way ensures that at the end of the CfC consortium. We will leave a positive impact for future cannabis growers.”

Recognising that the CfC is a long-term project, we asked Fluence whether they have additional research plans for the coming years at the CfC. “For now, we will stay with our main question of light intensity. As we want to have a strong base and show that a year-round production with consistent quality is possible. That higher amounts of light are both beneficial and economical to increase productivity and profitability in greenhouse applications.

If we can sufficiently achieve this before the end of the consortium, we are flexible to make any changes, as other things are also interesting to explore. For example, testing new cultivars starting from seeds, applying different crop training such as tipping compared to non-tipping. Further, looking into the relation of what other parties are focusing on during the consortium (i.e., regarding different EC levels and water gifts or using various types of media, application of different IPM strategies, etc.).

Maybe we will have a different light strategy, perhaps we will extend to see how this affects the propagation phase, or we will go to a completely different spectrum.” There are numerous options, and it appears that Fluence is very open to change. Sebastian confirmed, “It is good to be flexible in that and to be able to adapt depending on what we find out instead of setting everything in advance until the very last day of this experiment.”

We continued the future-focused discussion by asking Sebastian to share his thoughts on where Fluence will stand at the end of this consortium and what outcomes he expects to achieve. He responded, “I hope that, on the one hand, we will prove our ability to produce consistent quantity and quality throughout the entire year. That is something no one has yet demonstrated for cannabis in greenhouses in Europe. Achieving this would be a major advantage for growers. It would allow them to better predict what they can offer to their customers later on. That is something I would really like to see.”

“In addition to that, I want to learn about all the other partners and what they are doing. For instance, observing what different EC levels are doing, what different water gifts are doing, and whether there are any interesting developments when testing new IPM strategies, among other things. The combination of all the different factors, paired with the light, is something interesting. I also believe that all the partners of the CfC will have good connections with one another.”

Sebastian concluded the interview noting once more that Fluence is more than a lighting manufacturer “We are not only a lighting supplier, but we also bring in a lot of cultivation knowledge and innovation, such as photo acclimation best practices, cultivation technology, wireless technology, full integration of multiple wireless sensors with the Priva computer through our wireless digital ceiling solution, and more.”

From this interview, it became clear that Fluence has many ideas and plans to develop, improve, and contribute to the cannabis industry in Europe and worldwide. Be sure to follow the progress of the CfC consortium, among other things, to learn about Fluence’s outcomes and plans.

* Cultivation for Compounds is partly funded by the PPS surcharge for research and innovation from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.