#max lossl

[agritecture]

agrilution closes Series A with Tengelmann Ventures, Kraut Capital and OSRAMs Fluxunit to prepare for market entry

Press Release: Munich based startup agrilution closes Series A with Tengelmann Ventures, Kraut Capital and OSRAMs Fluxunit. agrilution is preparing the market entry of their plantCube, a plug and play device enabling anyone to grow fresh leafy green vegetables, herbs and lettuces at home - all year round.

The capital will be used to expand the team and prepare for mass production, marketing and after sales service. agrilution is bringing to market the first premium plug and play home-growing appliance that enables anyone to grow the freshest and most taste intense vegetables, herbs and lettuces. The plantCube is part of an ecosystem of products that agrilution has developed to eliminate the need for a green thumb - enabling anyone to produce their own fresh and healthy food at home. It comes with an App and seeds to ensure continuous high yields and great taste. The plantCube identifies the seeds that have been planted and provides an optimal growing environment by automatically regulating temperature, watering, and lighting conditions. This makes it possible to grow fresh and healthy herbs, salad and vegetables regardless of weather and climate.

The investment from Fluxunit, the venture capital fund of OSRAM, strengthens the strategic partnership with agrilution. OSRAM supports agrilution with smart LED solutions and horticultural expertise. For OSRAM it's an important step into the Vertical Farming and Controlled Environment Agriculture space. Tengelmann Ventures and Kraut Capital already invested in the previous round and made a clear statement by increasing their investment in the Series A.

PRESS CONTACT

Maximilian Lössl

E-mail: [email protected]

ABOUT AGRILUTION

agrilution, based in Munich, was founded by Maximilian Lössl und Philipp Wagner in 2013 and is active in the space of smart home appliances and vertical farming. agrilution offers a complete vertical farming ecosystem consisting of a smart plug’n’play home-growing appliance and consumables, as well as an App that eliminates the need for a green thumb. Thereby we enable you to grow the healthiest, freshest most taste intensive greens in your own home. Additional information can be found at http://agrilution.com.

ABOUT OSRAM

OSRAM, based in Munich, is a globally leading lighting manufacturer with a history dating back about 100 years. The product portfolio includes high-tech applications based on semiconductor technology such as infrared or laser lighting. The products are used in highly diverse applications ranging from virtual reality, autonomous driving or mobile phones to smart and connected lighting solutions in buildings and cities. In automotive lighting, the company is the global market and technology leader. Based on continuing operations (excluding Ledvance), OSRAM had around 24,600 employees worldwide at the end of fiscal 2016 (September 30) and generated revenue of almost €3.8 billion in that fiscal year. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Munich (ISIN: DE000LED4000; WKN: LED400; trading symbol: OSR). Additional information can be found at www.osram.com.

[agritecture]

Interview With Max Lössl of Agrilution:

Max Lössl is looking for solutions to world hunger with his start-up Agrilution. He is especially devoted to vertical farming and has just moved into the final round of the Thought for Food Challenge. It's not the wooden shoes, tulips, or Emmentaler that draws Max Lössl, 24, from Munich to Holland. But if microbiologist Dickson Despommier, a pioneer of the Vertical Farming, recommends a University in Den Bosch, then the young Munich local packs up his suitcase. Meanwhile, Lössl has established and founded a start-up: Agrilution (short for Agriculture Solution) which seeks innovative solutions to world hunger and has just moved into the final round of the Thought for Food Challenge. By September, he will build a prototype for the final event in Berlin. If Agrilution wins, the start-up will receive funding in the amount of 10,000 U.S. dollars. It has become a bit of a trend that young people begin start-up companies. What were your motivations? When I came to Holland, was already clear to me that I wanted to work in the field of vertical farming eventually. I wanted to use the study time there to create a basis for it. The idea for the start-up came later. The original plan was to set up a kind of network of contacts with governments, businesses, universities, or people like Dr. Despommier. Dickson Despommier is an ecologist and a big name in terms of vertical farming. What exactly is that? Vertical farming is a modern approach to make growing food more effective, efficient and above all sustainable. Rather than manage large floor areas and consume vast amounts of water, fertilizers and pesticides, so to speak, we operate agriculture in stacked greenhouses. Thus, one can theoretically grow to anywhere in the world food in closed loop systems. It sounds like an obvious choice. Why were vertical farms not built long ago? It's not that simple. The systems need light, water and a controlled climate. And of course, the plants need the proper supply of nutrients. Currently, a lot research is being done in order to optimize vertical farming. Light, controlled climate, water supply - that sounds not quite as sustainable as you presented. Yes, this is usually the first objection that we hear. Of course, for example, LED lamps are not produced sustainably. But they are simply the best solution until we eventually find a better one. The development steps of LEDs still have a long way to go. And a corn field outdoors probably also consumes less power than a vertical farm. Also, that's right. But our goal is to create a self-powered system. The boxes are to be operated with renewable energy. And overall, the balance is on our side: we need 98 percent less water, less nutrient solution, less space. Because it is a closed system, we don't need to use any pesticides. It all depends on what one considers "sustainable". Do vertical farms need to be huge skyscrapers? That is precisely the biggest misconception: vertical farms do not have to skyscrapers. There are so many empty industrial buildings that are always close to the city and are dirt cheap. In such buildings, vertical farming is economically feasible today. So soon we all be eating salad from vertical farms? Until then, it will take a bit. Currently we grow mainly diminutive green plants, because here you achieved the fastest research results. I can not wait until an entire apple tree is grown. And how do vegetables grown in vertical farms taste? Much better and more intense than anything you can buy in the supermarket. We are now trying to also get professional feedback about flavour. That means? Our goal for this year is to build 20 prototypes and reap a few hundred kilos of vegetables. Part of it is used for research purposes, but at least half will go to restaurants, so we can give professional feedback from our chefs. This all sounds very ambitious. I think that you have to be ambitious if you want to make a difference. And that's the beauty of this new industry. Before I came to Den Bosch, I studied electrical engineering in Germany. I would have to really because something can produce six to seven years would surely passed. The Vertical farming is still so much to explore, it has so much potential. I am here only in the first year and can now give other people have access to this area of ​​research.

SOURCE

Visit Agrilution to learn more about Max and his VF start-up.