this is HOOP SOLAR

EFFICIENT & SMART FARMING IN GREENHOUSES

Hoop Solar's solar energy modules bring green energy to greenhouses, improving horticulture and crop production. Their smart farming solution makes farming more efficient and sustainable.

Hoop Solar’s solar energy modules bring green energy to greenhouses, improving horticulture and crop production. Their smart farming solution makes farming more efficient and sustainable.

A huge proportion of our fruits and vegetables are grown in plastic greenhouses. Globally, they occupy an area of over 1 million hectares. These greenhouses are cheap, easy to install, and enable farmers to grow crops in dry, hot environments where otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do it. Yet, farmers are facing rising energy costs when it comes to maintaining the cooler climate inside their plastic greenhouses.

So wouldn’t it be great to use the roof space of the greenhouse for solar energy? This is the exact smart farming solution Hoop Solar is working on – to enable growers to produce their own clean energy.

Their system is composed of lightweight solar modules that are installed inside the greenhouse. They rotate real-time to provide the optimal light and growing conditions for the crops based on a proprietary algorithm. This means the solar panels produce energy while controlling the light for horticulture and better crop growth.

HOOP SOLAR - GREEN SOLAR ENERGY FOR GREENHOUSES

Meet Ross and Kevin, the co-founders of Hoop Solar, and learn about the progress they have made in the development of their smart farming product and business at MotionLab.Berlin.

The smart farming solution was developed by Ross and Kevin, co-founders of Hoop Solar. Kevin is from the US and has a mechanical engineering and business background. He worked at GE in manufacturing and supply chain before diving into the startup world. Kevin is new to Germany but very much enjoys wearing socks with his Birkenstocks. Ross is from the UK and did his PhD and postdoc research in next generation (thin-film) photovoltaics. He makes the best porridge and tea in Berlin, and runs marathons before breakfast.

The team came to MotionLab.Berlin and the Hardtech Innovation program to develop their smart farming product, validate the business case and kick off fundraising. As the end of the program approaches, they have made great progress towards these goals.

PROGRAM RECAP FOR THE HOOP SOLAR TEAM

Community is key. Some say it takes a village to raise a child. It’s the same for building a startup.

“MotionLab.Berlin and the program are amazing! Where else would you have an awesome makerspace, a bus to take meetings in, and late night rave parties? The people here are so talented, humble, and supportive. We’ve received such generous support from people that have helped us on our mission that we will forever be grateful for. It’s a community that embraces what makes Berlin special and makes it its own.”

Ross and Kevin still remember their first week of the program back in October 2023. “There was an exercise where we built a prototype of our product using only basic materials (straws, paper, tape, etc.). In less than an hour we built a table-top model of our product that we are still quite proud of today.” This exercise showed them that for hardware development, you can demonstrate concepts quickly and cheaply in order to iterate and improve. With the help of their mentor Dan Flynn, the generous community and the program’s “truly special staff”, they have come by leaps and bounds developing their product and business for efficient and smart farming in greenhouses.

NEXT STEPS & PILOT PROJECTS

“Our biggest takeaway is to always continue validating and learning from customers. That’s why we are truly excited to start our first in-field pilot project in Almería in Spain.” From there, there are two more bigger pilots planned in 2025.

We wish the Hoop Solar team all the best for the upcoming pilots with their smart farming solution, as well as for their planned pre-seed fundraising this autumn.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky

Interested in working with Hoop Solar and their energy efficient and smart farming solution for greenhouses? Get in touch with Kevin or join us for the Demo Day to meet all the 8 Hardtech Innovation startups!

OUR HARDTECH INNOVATION PROGRAM

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JOIN OUR DEMO DAY!

You want to meet Hoop Solar and get to know their energy efficient and smart farming solution for greenhouses personally? Or do you want to get to know the other startups from our current Hardtech Innovation program as well? Join us at our Demo Day on the 31st of May at MotionLab.Berlin and celebrate with us our amazing startups, their solutions and developments! Sign up here.

The Hardtech Innovation program is supported by funds from the European Union (European Social Fund) and the State of Berlin.