For decades, 3M has used optical film technology to manage light with precision across a wide range of applications, including electronic devices and display systems where controlling light can improve brightness, visual performance, and energy efficiency.
Now, the same expertise is being adapted to address a new challenge: using advanced light management technology to support agriculture while generating renewable energy.
Through an ongoing collaboration with Voltiris, 3M is helping advance spectral-filtering solar technology designed to optimize sunlight above crops. The approach is intended to allow plants to receive the wavelengths of light they need for growth while redirecting other portions of the solar spectrum toward electricity generation.
Building on successful greenhouse applications, the companies have launched an outdoor pilot project in the Canary Islands to evaluate the performance of Voltiris’ Voltimax spectral-filtering module under open-field agricultural conditions.
For 3M, the initiative represents a broader opportunity: applying established technology platforms in new ways through strategic partnerships and innovation.
A New Application for 3M’s Optical Technology Platform
3M’s contribution to the Voltiris partnership is based on decades of expertise in optical films, materials science, and advanced light management technologies.
Optical films are engineered to influence how light travels by controlling transmission, reflection, and redirection. In this agricultural application, the technology supports a system that selectively filters sunlight above crops, helping balance two important objectives: creating favorable growing conditions while capturing solar energy.
Unlike conventional solar installations placed alongside agricultural operations, this approach is designed to integrate directly with the farming environment. By managing the spectrum of sunlight reaching crops, the technology aims to support plant health while also producing renewable electricity.
For growers, this could provide a dual benefit: improved environmental conditions for crops and energy generation from the same agricultural footprint.
Why the Canary Islands Pilot Is Significant
The new pilot is being conducted in Gran Canaria, Spain, on a banana farm operated by Grupo FSM, recognized as Europe’s largest banana producer and exporter.
Banana cultivation in the region faces unique challenges, including intense sunlight exposure, elevated temperatures, and significant irrigation requirements. Much of the island’s irrigation water depends on desalination, a process that requires substantial energy consumption. Electricity costs associated with desalination represent a major component of banana production expenses in the Canary Islands.
This makes the region an important testing environment for technologies designed to address both agricultural and energy challenges simultaneously.
The pilot will examine whether spectral-filtering solar technology can help reduce heat stress on crops while generating electricity that is expected to partially support a desalination facility used for irrigation.
Expanding from Greenhouses to Open-Field Agriculture
3M and Voltiris have collaborated for several years to advance this technology from early development toward broader agricultural applications.
The solution has already been implemented at industrial scale in European greenhouses. The Canary Islands project represents a further step by evaluating performance in outdoor farming environments, where factors such as weather exposure, durability, and long-term system reliability become increasingly important.
Moving from controlled greenhouse environments to open-field agriculture significantly expands the potential applications of the technology.
The collaboration also demonstrates 3M’s approach to innovation: combining its science, materials expertise, and technology platforms with external partners developing solutions for emerging markets.
“Within advanced greenhouses across Northern Europe, where every percentage point of available light can influence crop performance, our technology has shown that crops can grow successfully beneath Voltiris modules. Results have demonstrated plant temperature reductions of approximately 4°C and irrigation reductions of around 20%,” said Jonas Roch, chief technology officer and co-founder of Voltiris.
“As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, our agrivoltaic solution can help improve agricultural resilience. We are now extending this approach outdoors, with the potential to deliver comparable or greater benefits while also helping protect crops from environmental challenges such as wind, frost, hail, and heavy rainfall.”
Innovation Through Collaboration
“The partnership with Voltiris highlights the value of combining 3M’s materials science capabilities with external innovation to accelerate emerging technologies,” said Mark Copman, senior vice president of 3M Ventures.
“Together, we are advancing solutions with the potential to support agriculture and renewable energy while demonstrating 3M’s continued commitment to applying science to complex global challenges.”
The collaboration reflects how 3M works with innovators across industries: taking proven technology platforms and adapting them to address new customer needs and market opportunities.
In this case, 3M’s optical film expertise is helping enable a new approach to agricultural solar technology—one designed to support crop environments, produce renewable power, and address resource challenges in regions where sunlight is abundant but environmental pressures are increasing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 3M’s partnership with Voltiris?
3M is collaborating with Voltiris to advance spectral-filtering solar technology for agricultural applications. The partnership combines Voltiris’ solar module technology with 3M’s expertise in materials science and optical films to explore improved methods of managing sunlight above crops.
What role does 3M technology play in the system?
3M provides expertise in optical films and light management technologies. These capabilities support a system designed to filter sunlight, allowing crops to receive beneficial wavelengths while redirecting other parts of the spectrum for electricity generation.
What makes the Canary Islands pilot different?
The Canary Islands project represents the first outdoor deployment of Voltiris’ Voltimax spectral-filtering solar module in open-field agriculture. It provides a real-world evaluation in an environment where growers face challenges including high solar exposure, crop heat stress, and energy-intensive irrigation.
How does this project demonstrate 3M innovation?
The partnership illustrates how 3M applies established technology platforms in new areas through collaboration. By adapting optical film expertise for agricultural and renewable energy applications, 3M is helping develop solutions designed to address multiple challenges, including crop management, clean energy production, and resource efficiency.
