Hydrogen energy tested in Spanish aquaculture sector

THE aquaculture sector is a promising market niche for hydrogen and fuel cells technologies, claims a project called Life Aquasef.

Experts from the project are working with the sector, enabling producers to generate oxygen in situ by using 100 per cent renewable energies.

Energy savings due to this innovation amount to 30 per cent of actual energy costs in aquaculture facilities.

The project aims to address two major challenges for the aquaculture sector: environmental and energy sustainability.

Many inland aquaculture facilities in Europe are located in areas without access to the grid, using energy derived from fossil fuels. In addition, these facilities become highly dependent on external oxygen supply as keeping a constant dissolved oxygen rate is crucial to finfish production.

Installations based away from urban centres have difficulty in accessing commercial oxygen and their supply costs are increased exponentially due to transportation difficulties.

‘The added value of using this technology in the aquaculture field is that both generated gases can be used: oxygen for supplying the hatcheries, and hydrogen for producing electricity, heat and/ or mechanical work,’ said David Solera, company coordinator of the project.

The project is EU funded and completion and further results are expected by June 30, 2017.