Airborne diseases such as Avian Influenza, E. coli, ORT, and Aspergillus fumigatus continue to threaten animal welfare, farmer livelihoods, and food security. Traditional biosecurity tools focus on keeping pathogens out—but very few address the pathogens generated within poultry houses themselves. Our R&D efforts are changing that.

Through a multi-year programme of design, testing, and scientific validation, we are developing the ILIMEX Flufence—a UVC-based air sterilisation system that neutralises airborne pathogens in real-time. This technology is designed to:

· Reduce external pathogen ingress through filtered intake air

· Neutralise internally generated pathogens via in-house sterilisation

· Improve flock health, welfare, and performance

· Reduce reliance on antibiotics and chemical disinfectants

· Support the industry’s drive toward sustainability and net-zero farming

Our R&D work is conducted in close collaboration with trusted partners:

· Complement Genomics – providing world-class laboratory testing, including qPCR and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), to validate pathogen reduction.

· Ulster University – offering independent academic oversight, ensuring trials are designed and reported with scientific rigour.

· Invest Northern Ireland (InvestNI) – supporting our innovation journey with R&D grant funding, enabling us to accelerate product development and scale our impact.

We are running large-scale poultry trials in Cumbria, in partnership with AJ Forster Ltd., to demonstrate the Flufence system in real farm environments. These trials will quantify improvements in feed conversion ratio (FCR), mortality, weight gain, and flock uniformity, alongside pathogen reduction.