Major investment in digital and energy-efficient solutions for aquaculture and small-scale fishing
The EU is investing EUR 65 million in the SEADEEP project. SEADEEP aims to develop digital technology and energy-efficient solutions to drive the transition towards more sustainable and climate-smart seafood production in Europe. Sixteen innovative solutions will be tested in real-world environments in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
The fishing and aquaculture industries face major challenges linked to energy costs, fossil fuel reliance and increased environmental requirements. At the same time, there is significant potential to use digital technology to optimize processes and reduce resource consumption.
The project is part of the transition towards a sustainable blue economy. It addresses the need to reduce emissions from food production in marine environments. At the same time, these businesses need to become more competitive
, says Pierre Ingmarsson, Innovation Coordinator for the Blue Economy at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
The project aims to develop and demonstrate digital and energy-efficient solutions for fisheries, aquaculture and macroalgae cultivation. Using sensors, artificial intelligence, data analysis and digital twins, the project will investigate how seafood production can become more resource-efficient, with reduced energy consumption and lower carbon emissions, whilst improving profitability.
The aim is to deliver 16 innovative solutions to be developed and tested in real-world environments at demonstration sites in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
- Macroalgae cultivation: a large-scale, energy-efficient solution and two advanced digital solutions to optimize production and resource use.
- Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS): a large-scale, energy-efficient facility combined with eight digital solutions to improve monitoring, control and efficiency.
- Small-scale fishing: four digital solutions aimed at improving operational efficiency, energy use and decision-making at sea.
The solutions are designed to reduce energy consumption by up to 15–30 percent, for example through optimized water circulation, smarter feed management, energy-efficient algae drying and AI-based route optimization for fishing vessels.
IVL is leading the project and is responsible for coordination, environmental analysis and ensuring that the solutions deliver measurable benefits in terms of energy and climate.
For more information, contact:
Pierre Ingmarsson, pierre.ingmarsson@ivl.se, tel. +46(0)10-788 65 01
SEADEEP, Sustainable Energy Advancement through Digitalisation for Energy Efficient Production in Aquaculture and Fisheries, is funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme. It brings together 30 partners from eleven countries, and combines research, technology and industrial applications within a consortium where the entire value chain is represented. Swedish partners, in addition to IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (coordinator), are Smögenlax, Kesacon, Infrasonik and VisionAir. For further information and a complete list of partners, see the project webpage.