Growth Lighting Company Rhenac Launches New Product, The RML 400

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Image Credit: Rhenac

Rhenac, a growth lighting specialist company have released their latest product in their unique Complete Light Spectrum line, the RML 400, which delivers turf care across a 400 spm area using UV-C lighting equipment.

The RML 400, like all in the CLS range, is designed for businesses who want to maintain their sporting pitch with efficient and sustainable means — with industry-leading LED technology attached to a lightweight-rig design, the RML 400 provides state of the art turf growth under simulated conditions.

The LED system on the product stimulates natural sunlight using Rhenac-patented technology, which is backed by years of research and development in plat research at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and used by several elite stadiums.

CEO of Rhenac, Horst Theisen explained the RML 400 lighting is not just about one monochromatic light: it’s much more.

“It’s about creating balanced light recipes that replicate natural sunlight and adjusting temperature to support every stage of turf growth,” he said via press release.

“Red light stimulates germination and shoot growth, while blue light promotes root development, shear strength, leaf structure and density. White light enhances overall turf health and vitality, while far red drives length growth.

“The ability to create bespoke recipes with this mixture of light, combined with infrared heating, ensures the optimal conditions for turf recovery, resilience and consistent playability.”

Rhenac prides itself on solving problems for their clients by using their already existing technology and adapting and personalising it in various ways.

Rhenac’s range of pitch care products and projects can be design specifically for stadiums and other customers, resulting in CLS equipment varying from compact frames for smaller pitches, to inbuilt structures and lighting for major venues.

Rhenac GreenTec

Rhenac sources their research and development through their engineering hub Rhenac GreenTec, founded to study and stay up to date in plant growth within climate chambers without natural light, to then use the data to update their products range.

Modern stadiums and training centres use Rhenac products to keep their pitch’s health and growth consistent all year round due to constraints like parts being under shade from stands, the demanding of training and play, as well as weather.

The results seen by those using the CLS range estimate a 100-percent boost to root growth with double the biomass, 40-percent fewer input requirements to the pitch, and 30-percent more playable hours, all done chemically-free.

The RML 400 is also equipped with analysers and real-time sensors that look deeper into the maintenance of the turf to help venue managers and grounds people to understand more about the reaction of the pitch to the light and its circumstances.

Alongside its advanced lighting technology, the RML 400 benefits from Rhenac’s collaboration with Turf Lighting Solutions who pioneer in single-row aluminium mobile lighting which ensures an easy-to-handle rig that’s practical for ground people to transport, deploy and store.

The RML 400 also includes intuitive controls, light sensor automation, smart remote operation from pitch side, using data-driven resources to ensure long-term reliability.

Turf Lighting Solutions

Turf Lighting Solutions is a subsidiary and partner of Rhenac who specialises in the development and design of the lighting and lightweight rigs (which TLS brought over with the partnership), delivering more than 600 rigs to 120+ stadiums, clubs, and sports venues worldwide.

TLS also designed and created some of Rhenac’s products like turf fans used to control temperature and improve airflow and spray cannons and air blowers for targeted treatment.

The company also consults and advises venue managers towards tailored services for each pitch’s unique conditions, and full lifecycle support from the initial enquiry to ongoing maintenance and optimisation.

Together, Rhenac have operated for over a decade with several decades of knowledge and industry experience from their team.

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Netflix’s Women’s World Cup deal puts IMG’s technology in the spotlight

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Netflix’s first exclusive football deal will see the next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup at the centre of it’s live-sport strategy. The US-streaming service company has appointed IMG as its production partner for all 64 matches in Brazil, as well as more than 100 hours of live studio programming. The deal includes English and Spanish coverage for viewers within the US, and English and French-language coverage for those in Canada. IMG will also support Netflix’s coverage of the tournament’s draw in December.

The 2027 Women’s World Cup runs from June 24 to July 25 across eight host cities, and will be the first edition to feature 32 teams. The scale of the tournament makes it an ambitious first foray into sports broadcasting for Netflix – which means IMG’s involvement will be of great significance.

IMG’s production engine

IMG has built its reputation on producing and distributing live sport at scale. It’s Stockley Park, London facility includes broadcast studios, production galleries, edit suites and facilities for radio, podcasting, dubbing and visual effects. The company has worked across major properties including the Premier League, Major League Soccer and other international sporting events.

For a World Cup, this infrastructure provides more than a place to make television; it creates a central point where production teams can manage feeds, graphics, replays, commentary, editing and distribution while events are taking place thousands of kilometres away.

Remote production is the key

The most important technology for a tournament spread across eight Brazilian cities is connectivity. IMG has invested in remote-production workflows that allow production teams to work across locations, rather than putting every specialist inside each stadium. Its wider production operation has used fibre, satellite, cloud and IP-based connectivity to move live signals between venues and production centres.

That model can reduce the amount of equipment and specialist staff required at every venue while allowing senior producers, directors, replay operators and graphics teams to work from centralised facilities. IMG has also demonstrated long-distance IP production, including a 20,000-kilometre link between Tokyo and London that carried uncompressed, low-latency video. For Netflix, those capabilities are particularly relevant. The platform is building a single viewing experience for audiences in two markets, but the raw ingredients will come from stadiums spread across Brazil. A resilient network becomes just as important as the cameras themselves.

From stadium to stream

The technology chain does not end when the pictures leave the venue. A modern sports production operation has to manage ingest, replay, media asset management, graphics, audio, quality control, archiving and transmission. IMG’s facilities have been built around those workflows, with master control and transmission capabilities alongside post-production and archive operations.

That infrastructure also gives IMG the ability to turn the live tournament into a wider stream of content. A goal can become a replay, a highlight, a social clip or part of a studio package without waiting for the match to finish. For Netflix, that fits a platform built around on-demand discovery as much as live viewing.

A new test for Netflix

Netflix has already made a significant investment in football through documentaries and other programming. The 2027 Women’s World Cup takes it up a level. FIFA describes the agreement as the first competition Netflix has acquired in full, making the tournament a major test of its live sports operation. IMG therefore has a job that goes beyond producing 64 matches; it must help Netflix build the technical backbone for a month-long, multi-venue broadcast, while maintaining consistent production standards across languages and locations.

The viewer may simply press play and see a World Cup match appear instantly. Behind that button will be a complex network of cameras, connectivity, control rooms, production systems, people and data. That is the real significance of Netflix’s IMG deal: the streamer is bringing the tournament to its platform, but IMG is providing much of the machinery that can make a global football event feel seamless.

The ball is no longer just being improved it is being connected

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The humble football is becoming one of the more technologically advanced objects on a football pitch.

Across the A-Leagues, Mitre’s new Ultimax Pro is focused on improving what happens when the ball is kicked, while LaLiga has taken the next step by turning the ball into a source of live match data.

The contrast shows how football technology is moving in two directions at once, improving the physical performance of equipment while increasingly connecting it to the digital systems surrounding the game.

Refining the Physical Object: Mitre’s Ultimax Pro

The Ultimax Pro, which will be used across the 2026/27 A-League Men and Ninja A-League Women seasons, incorporates Mitre’s HyperFlow, HyperFoam, HyperSeal and Delta Skin technologies.

Its debossed grooves are designed to reduce drag and improve stability in flight, while the cushioning, bonding and surface technologies are aimed at producing consistent rebound, durability and control. The ball carries FIFA Quality Pro certification, reflecting the testing standards required for professional match balls.

The technology is largely invisible to supporters. Its purpose is to make the ball behave more predictably for players, rather than fundamentally changing the football itself.

Connecting the Ball to the Digital Ecosystem: LaLiga’s Sensor-Driven Approach

LaLiga’s approach is different.

The Spanish competition has introduced a radio-frequency sensor developed by KINEXON into its PUMA match ball, with the technology being used across every LaLiga EA Sports fixture this season.

The sensor continuously transmits information about the ball’s position and the precise moment of contact. Around 12 antennas installed in each stadium capture the data and feed it into LaLiga’s wider technology infrastructure.

That gives the ball a role beyond simply being the object of play.

Knowing exactly when the ball is touched can help officials in a variety of situations. Offside, handballs, deflections and other decisions where a difference of milliseconds can affect the outcome could all benefit.

But the more interesting development may sit outside officiating.

LaLiga is using the connected ball to create xBALL, an official data layer that can feed broadcasts, digital products and future second-screen experiences. Data such as shot speed, ball spin and trajectory could all be incorporated into its media and digital products.

The ball is no longer just something that manufacturers compete to make faster, more durable or more responsive. It can also become a source of proprietary data that leagues can use to improve broadcasts, develop digital products and create new ways for supporters to understand the game.

The Ball as Part of Football’s Intelligence Layer

Mitre is refining the physical object. LaLiga is connecting that object to the digital ecosystem of the match.

Together, however, they point to the same direction of travel.

Football equipment is becoming increasingly intelligent.

The evolution is not necessarily about adding technology for its own sake. In the A-Leagues, the objective is consistency: predictable flight, touch and rebound. In LaLiga, the objective is precision and information: knowing exactly where the ball is and when it was touched.

The commercial opportunity comes from what can be built around those capabilities.

As stadiums become more connected, broadcasts become more data-rich and clubs and leagues collect increasingly detailed information about matches, the football itself can become another input into that infrastructure.

It also changes the relationship between equipment manufacturers and competitions.

A match ball used to be primarily a physical product supplied to a league. Connected technology creates the possibility of the ball becoming part of a broader technology stack involving officiating systems, broadcast platforms, analytics and fan-facing digital products.

The A-Leagues are starting with the physical performance of the ball. LaLiga is showing what can happen when that physical object becomes connected.

The next generation of football technology may not be something players wear or referees use.

It may be the ball itself.

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