The Princess & The Geothermal Boreholes

The Princess Royal has officially opened a new geothermal glasshouse at the University of Lincoln featuring specialist glass technology from NSG Group, aka Pilkington Glass.

The facility at the University’s Riseholme campus brings together technologies to explore how crops could be grown more sustainably and efficiently, with Pilkington UK contributing specialist glass.

Geothermal boreholes

The glasshouse is powered by 18 geothermal boreholes, providing heating and cooling using energy from underground. Alongside this, the glass incorporates a specialist coating designed to reflect solar radiation in wavelengths that are not needed by plants, while allowing the light required for crop growth to pass through.

The combination of these two technologies could have significant potential to reduce the environmental and energy impact of greenhouse crop production.

Emissions cut

The glasshouse has demonstrated the potential to reduce crop greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50% and energy costs by around 30%. This could be transformational for greenhouse crop production systems in the UK and globally.

GASTRO

The facility forms part of the Geothermal and Advanced Spectral Technology for Regional Optimisation of greenhouse crop production project, which brings together researchers from the University of Lincoln with industrial partners, including NSG Group. The project is investigating how different technologies can work together to improve the efficiency and sustainability of greenhouse horticulture.

Glass beyond the traditional

Digvijay Thakur, Incubator Director at NSG Group, was at the special event. He said: “This project is a great example of how NSG Group’s glass expertise can contribute to challenges beyond traditional glass applications. By working alongside universities, researchers and other industry partners, our teams are exploring how the unique properties of glass can be used in new ways to support more sustainable solutions.”

The University of Lincoln’s glasshouse provides a dedicated environment where different technologies and growing approaches can be tested, helping to build knowledge that could ultimately benefit food production in the UK and beyond.

Picture: Princess Anne has opened a pioneering glasshouse featuring NSG Group technology using Pilkington UK supplied glass.

www.pilkington.com/en