Agtech startup Gooddrop has announced an initial £1m investment and a three-year research partnership with the University of Nottingham.
"We have founded Gooddrop to provide the retail sector with an entirely manageable solution to issues of sustainability in cotton farming," said Simon Wardle, CEO of Hull-based Gooddrop.
Launched and backed by a partnership of Simon Wardle and Andres Perea, Gooddrop's £1m launch investment will ensure its initial costs are met, including research, manpower, and capital expenditure.
"We will continue to invest in Gooddrop while encouraging private equity, including angel and venture capital, and local, regional, and national funding bodies to invest in the business," said Simon.
Gooddrop's main research partner is the University of Nottingham.
"We have chosen to establish a research partnership with the University of Nottingham because it has the largest group of internationally recognized plant and crop scientists in the UK university sector," added Simon. "Their team brings together a range of academic experience and expertise in delivering crop optimization in controlled and field environments."
Central to the research program with the university has been the design, build, fit-out, and installation of six custom-made cotton research units. Converted from two ex-artic containers, these research, test growing labs, and admin units have been manufactured by Cambridge HOK at Newport, East Yorkshire, transported to, and installed at, the University of Nottingham's Sutton Bonington Campus in Leicestershire.
Erik Murchie, Professor of Applied Plant Physiology, School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham, said: "The idea here is to develop vertical farming concepts for cotton which is normally a field crop. This includes making the cotton more sustainable, reducing inputs into cotton production, and developing means of growing it indoors. This will allow us to control temperature and humidity and light quality."
John Foulkes, Associate Professor in Crop Science, said: "The added value of this new unit is significant as it will allow us to manipulate the growing conditions of the cotton, manipulate the light and its wavelength in unique ways, to increase the water use efficiency, reducing the inputs and uptakes required to grow the cotton."
For more information: 
Gooddrop Ltd.
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https://www.good-drop.com/