Objective
FILMCO by Elysee Irrigation Ltd. – a Cyprus-based manufacturer and worldwide supplier of piping and irrigation systems for
agricultural, domestic and public use - will bring to the market a high performance film cover for greenhouses based in nanomaterials
technology, offering significant benefits to growers due to the use of advanced polymer nano-composites. FILMCO
is a greenhouse film that has already probed to provide the growers with energy consumption savings by 24-28%, and
increase their crop production by 20%. FILMCO’s main innovation is the ability to regulate the Photosynthetically active
radiation (PAR) for a given Infrared Radiation (IR), thus controlling the degree of rightness/darkness according to the
location requirements. The novel film will have increased robustness, added to higher pesticide and UV and oxidation
resistance. The film will create a controlled environment in the greenhouse while lowering energy demands, reducing costs
and promoting a better use of resources and higher crop yield. The longer lifespan will also reduce plastic waste and
decrease waste management expenses. Although nanotechnology has emerged in industrial applications over the last
decades, there is no similar commercial product available in the growing greenhouse agriculture market that matches the
benefits and competitive advantages of FILMCO. FILMCO, with TRL 6, is the outcome of a national research project in
which Elysee already demonstrated these promising results benefits for growers, so it became a success history. Via
FILMCO, Elysee estimates a new revenue stream valued at 13.7M€ over the first 5 years of commercialisation, and also will
hire 10 new employees for the production line. The feasibility assessment will address both, business and technological
aspects, aiming to obtain end-user feedback and market knowledge that will be the basis for identifying the steps to take
towards up-scaling the technology and for review the business plan.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste management
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringwater engineeringirrigation
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementbusiness models
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringnanocomposites
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
Coordinator
2643 Lefkosia
Cyprus
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