NOxAqua - SMART SOLUTIONS TO CONTROL NITROGEN LEVELS IN THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY
Nitrogen Sensing Solutions ·Portugal
About this project
<p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 10pt"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) have been the answer to those problems. These systems are designed to control culture conditions for intensive farming, while increasing biosecurity levels, minimizing water consumption, and managing waste streams. Clearly, a shift from open farming to <strong>sustainable</strong> land-based aquaculture is happening in Norway and other parts of the globe. However, only a few Portuguese companies are operating with RAS; therefore, a greater financial and technological investment is needed to advance this production sector in Portugal. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">RAS themselves are stimulating demand for technology innovation in areas like <strong>aqua tech</strong>. Still, there are no real-time sensors for the quantification of highly toxic nitrogen compounds (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) that can accumulate in close systems. Therefore, the main goal<strong> </strong>of this project is the development of <strong>innovative sensors</strong> to quantify such compounds using a technological platform (electrochemical biosensors) that is mastered by the start-up Nitrogen Sensing Solutions (promoter). Our first product will be a portable nitrite biosensor-the <strong>NO2Aqua</strong> - that will be launched on the market by the end of the project. O</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">ur second product will </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">be a standalone device that is able to monitor the three <em>N</em>-nutrients in real-time, the <strong>NOxAqua</strong>. Finally, a prototype of an <strong>automated sampling system</strong> specifically designed to integrate and connect the sensors to the tanks will be developed, fulfilling the specific needs of the RAS industry</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">. Our Portuguese (</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">Flatlantic and RiaSearch</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">) and Norwegian (NIVA and RASLab) partners will play a fundament role in validating/demonstrating/proving the technology in operational environments, </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">thereby <strong>strengthening </strong>the scientific and technological<strong> relationships</strong> between the two States. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">Ultimately, we will be able to <strong>create products of high</strong> <strong>value for the </strong></span></span><strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">Blue Growth </span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">sector</span></span><strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">,</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000"> thereby fostering innovation and business development, and levering the competitiveness and sustainability of Portuguese SMEs.</span></span></span></span></p>
Bilateral cooperation results
Creation of innovative tools to assess critical parameters for water quality in state-of-the-art aquaculture settings. New products of added value for water monitoring in real-time, which will leverage current methods and farming practices firmly established in Norway, (where the rate of innovation is very high), and in many other markets across the globe. Norway and Portugal will be the first to benefit from it, strengthening the scientific and technological relationships between the two States. Even though the early adopters will be based in Portugal and Norway, in the long run, we will address other markets outside the European area. Therefore, by working along the aquaculturevalue chain, we will be able to accelerate the transition to a sustainable blue economy at the global scale.The execution of NOxAqua is timely since is mainly focused on solving the real problems of a highly trendy and sustainable fish farming technology. The staff involved, we believe, was the key to the success of this collaborative project, as it merges complementary fields of knowledge (sensors technology, water quality, aquaculture, RAS, business development), and gathers recognized researchers, entrepreneurs, and business managers strengthening the cooperation between the two states engaged in the project (Portugal and Norway). Particularly, aside from the close collaboration with the Portuguese partners, NS2 will benefit from the proven capacity of Norwegian stakeholders (NIVA and Marinenolmen RASLab), to validate and demonstrate its products in a highly representative industrial environment since the Norwegian aquaculture industry is the most mature globally, fostering market traction for our cutting-edge products for water quality analysis.
Project partners
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research Donor project partner· Norway
- Marinenolmen RASLab AS Donor project partner· Norway
- RIASEARCH-Unipessoal, Lda Project partner· Portugal
- FLATLANTIC - ACTIVIDADES PISCÍCOLAS, S.A. Project partner· Portugal