Albotherm's project aims to revolutionise greenhouse shading technology to combat microplastic pollution and enhance agricultural productivity sustainably. The European Union's Zero Pollution Action Plan targets a 30% reduction in microplastic pollution by 2030 through restrictions on the intentional addition of microplastics to products. This restriction does not currently cover coatings and paints, which form as macro layers but break down into microplastics with weathering. Future restrictions are likely to be updated to include microplastic pollution from coatings, which are currently estimated to contribute 1.9 million tonnes of pollution annually to the oceans, equating to 58% of all microplastic pollution. Greenhouses currently regulate temperatures using shade paints which are typically chalk based white paints applied and removed each season. This process contributes 250,000 tonnes of CO2 and around 90,400 tonnes of plastic pollution annually. These paints are washed away using chemical cleaning solutions, which dissolve the coatings into microplastics, and are then washed into waterways and the wider environment. Microplastics pose a significant threat to public health and the environment, therefore our goal is to avoid contributing to this problem while still offering the benefits of our technology. Albotherm has developed an additive technology that reversibly transitions from transparent to white, shading greenhouses in hot weather and allowing more light on cooler days. This additive regulates internal temperature without electrical input, increasing light levels by up to 18% and crop yields by up to 34%. It offers significant environmental and economic benefits compared to traditional shade paints. As our technology is currently removed in the same way as chalk based paints, this project sets out to adapt our additives to be plastic free. Within this project, we aim to explore the feasibility of using bio-based or biodegradable alternatives to our current materials. Over the course of a year, we will conduct rigorous R&D alongside our regular operations, sourcing and testing these materials in trials to compare their performance with our current technology. Through this project, we aim to eliminate a potential 6,000 tonnes of plastic pollution from entering marine environments over the next five years, whilst also boosting crop yields. Across the UK our technology could help generate 38,000 extra tonnes of crop production. Albotherm seeks to lead in sustainable agricultural practices, contributing positively to global environmental health and food security.

The world needs to produce 50% more food by 2050, meanwhile arable land has decreased by 30% in the last 40 years. Greenhouses extend growing seasons by keeping crops warm in winter, however, they are prone to overheating in summer. To prevent crop-loss from heat-stress, it is necessary to cool greenhouses during hot weather. At Albotherm, we are developing novel greenhouse coatings that reversibly transition from transparent to white to shade greenhouses in hot weather, regulating internal temperature without electrical input while maximising light levels. Our early-stage prototype was developed for glasshouses, based on ground-breaking research from Bristol University. Our trials showed a 34% yield-increase compared to shade-paints. Across the UK, this represents a potential crop loss of 679,150 tonnes, worth £1.35Bn. Our current innovation is a coating that changes from transparent to reflective-white when heated, resulting in temperature-dependent shading. Our core IP is an active ingredient, that is added to transparent water-based coatings, to achieve reversible opacity at an engineerable transition temperature. This product was designed for glass greenhouses; this project will adapt our technology for berry production in polytunnels. Polytunnels make up 71% of UK greenhouses (7990ha), but as impermanent structures they lack HVAC systems to regulate temperature, giving less precise climate control and yields are 10-20% lower than glasshouses. By controlling spikes in temperature, we prevent early ripening, extending crop production into the off season, where the average selling price of berries more than doubles. By extending the season by 1 month, we could produce an additional 20.8 tonnes/Ha. By integrating our product into plastic-films, we also provide cost savings to growers by shading their crops for the film's lifetime (5-years). Moreover, this longer lifetime reduces the use of shade paints cutting 19,016 tonnes of water, 760 tonnes of plastic production and 9987 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually (UK). Finally, from optimising light-levels across the growing season, we can produce 679,150 tonnes/pa of additional produce. By adapting our products for polytunnels, we will be able to access the wider greenhouse market (90%) and we will be able to quantify our coatings performance and durability in commercial greenhouses with our partner Billington Farm, a berry producer in the UK.

The world needs to produce 50% more food by 2050 to feed a population that will reach nearly 10 billion in this time. Meanwhile arable land has decreased by 30% in the last 40 years due to the effects of urbanisation and climate change. It is essential that we increase the productivity of the arable land we have available to ensure future food security for our population. At Albotherm, we are developing greenhouse coatings that reversibly transition from transparent to white to shade crops in hot weather, allowing internal temperature regulation without electrical input. Our technology can increase light levels compared to standard shading, giving an estimated yield increase of up to 25%. For the UK this would mean up to 578,200 tonnes of extra food produced each year. Moreover, the use of fans in cooling UK greenhouses accounts for 235 million kWh of energy each year, which equates to roughly 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted \[4,6\]. Our technology has the potential to decrease the use of fans by 81%, saving 44,500 tonnes of CO2 and helping the horticultural industry's shift towards net-zero emissions. This is a technical feasibility project which will take our existing technology and develop a specific, customisable product for application in commercial greenhouses. Our current innovation is a coating that changes from transparent to reflective-white when heated, resulting in temperature-dependent shading. Our core IP is an active ingredient, that is added to transparent water-based coatings, to achieve reversible opacity at an engineerable transition temperature. This project will allow us to develop this prototype into a market-ready product that is gradually shading, durable and customisable to the specific heat and light requirements for optimal growth of each crop in order to improve crop yields. With these improvements to our first-generation system, we will then be able to quantify our coatings performance and durability in commercial greenhouses with our partners Vitacress, a herb producer in the UK and Flavour Fresh a berry and tomato grower in the UK. During this project, we will also collaborate with our partners Pilkington to test the durability and scale-up application capabilities for product trials.

By 2050, food demand is expected to increase between 59% and 98%, driven by an increasing global population coupled with decreasing amounts of arable land. In order to feed the world, we need solutions that maximise the productivity of the farming land still available to us whilst being both low cost and environmentally sustainable. This need has led to a drastic increase in the greenhouse film market size, which was valued at $3.9bn in 2018 and is projected to nearly double to $6.5bn by 2023\. Albotherm will produce a temperature responsive coating, that will passively regulate the temperature of the surfaces it coats by reflecting light away when the temperature increases. Greenhouses offer intensive crop growth under controlled conditions, extending growing seasons and increasing crop yields. However, glazing that raises crop temperatures in Spring and Autumn can scorch crops in Summer. Our aim is to use this coating to passively regulate greenhouse temperatures, to improve both crop-yield and quality. We do this using a responsive polymer gel that transitions from clear to opaque at a specified temperature. The change in opacity is fully reversible, meaning the polymer only remains opaque above the desired temperature. This temperature can be tuned to anything between 18°C to 45 °C, making it suitable for any climate or crop. Currently our materials exist as a water-based solution, which cannot be practically applied to greenhouses. This project will allow us to develop and test a powdered form of our responsive polymer, that can then be used as an additive for plastic greenhouse films and would allow passive control of the climate inside the greenhouse. The same additives can also be dispersed into paint, making a sprayable coating that passively cools on the surface it is applied to. This product would be versatile and applicable not only for plastic greenhouses, but it could also be applied to almost any surface including glass. In the longer term, we plan to develop the product further to create a more durable paint, with the aim to target the commercial and ultimately domestic buildings market. The UK government has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050 and to halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030, meaning we will need more passive cooling technologies than ever before. Our responsive paints could make a huge contribution in reducing our reliance on energy intensive, air conditioning systems.