No, it’s not science fiction. Tomorrow, trees, bushes and plants in general could illuminate public spaces on their own. “I don’t think they will be able to replace street lamps but you should never say never,” reacts Ghislain Auclair, co-founder of the Strasbourg start-up Woodlight with his partner, Rose-Marie Vesin.
The two doctors in biology – she in oncology, he in molecular genetics – have been working on this project since 2016. “Since a trip to New York where we realized the pollution and overconsumption that lighting represented. We wondered how to respond to this problem and the idea came up,” continues the 37-year-old native of Thionville (Moselle).
Eight years later, an important milestone has just been reached: they presented the very first “bioluminescent plant” at the end of September in Le Havre. Tobacco, for now. “Because it is a model plant, a bit like mice among mammals, but we can work on other varieties,” promises the researcher.
This will depend on the next fundraising that Woodlight has just launched. “We have already succeeded in moving from bioluminescent plant cells, visible under a microscope, to a first prototype of a bioluminescent plant visible to the naked eye. They are about ten centimeters long and will grow. The next step is to define market needs with our partners. Afterwards, everything will be possible. »
Green light, not white
Like making the famous plant “perfectly autonomous”. Today, it needs an “activator molecule” to produce, over a given period of time,… green light. Not white or yellow? “No, we want to replace polluting light with something natural. Green does not disturb the balance of the plant or the ecosystem. It does not bother insects at night either,” assures Ghislain Auclair. And during the day, it remains “invisible” to the naked eye.
The duo is already thinking of numerous applications, both outdoors and indoors. “In parks, it could be bushes or trees that could be used as markers. We can also imagine many applications in interior design, for restaurants and hotels. » Even, one day, at the home of the individual who would therefore own “his bioluminescent orchid”.
“Potentially, we can affect all varieties since we add capacity to the plant. It is modified in a stable manner so that it produces light. And it is sterile, there will be no seed that will go everywhere,” insists the doctor based in a laboratory in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, near Strasbourg.
The Woodlight team, now made up of six people, hopes to soon experiment with its research in public spaces. “We are thinking by the end of 2025. Many cities are already interested, large groups too,” adds Ghislain Auclair, also opening the door “abroad”. The market is huge. It’s not science fiction.