project - Research and innovation
INAPRO - Innovative Aquaponics for Professional Application
INAPRO - Innovative Aquaponics for Professional Application
Objectives
Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture and horticulture. In an aquaponic system, the nutrient-rich water from the fish unit is used as fertiliser for the hydroponically grown crops, which therefore reduces the sewage of the fish component. Aquaponics is a highly efficient way of producing food but is yet to spread onto the market. This is mainly due to a lack of stability, economic profitability, and technical and technological standardisation. The INAPRO project aims to overcome these limitations by innovating and improving aquaponics.
Objectives
Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture and horticulture. In an aquaponic system, the nutrient-rich water from the fish unit is used as fertiliser for the hydroponically grown crops, which therefore reduces the sewage of the fish component. Aquaponics is a highly efficient way of producing food but is yet to spread onto the market. This is mainly due to a lack of stability, economic profitability, and technical and technological standardisation. The INAPRO project aims to overcome these limitations by innovating and improving aquaponics.
Activities
INAPRO aims at improving current approaches to aquaponics through the development of a model and the integration of innovative technologies allowing to save water and to optimise energy and nutrient management. Indeed, INAPRO allows the production of local, healthy and sustainable food minimising the water and carbon footprint.
The INAPRO system is scalable to different greenhouses, from large scale rural facilities to small urban faming systems, and adaptable to different geographical and climatic conditions. At the time being, an INAPRO test facility in Abtshagen (Germany), is already running and producing tilapia and tomatoes. By spring 2016, two other demonstration sites will be built in Europe, one in Waren (Germany) and the other in Murcia (Spain).
Project details
- Main funding source
- Other EU research and development funds
- Project acronym
- INAPRO
- Agricultural sectors
- Other sectors
Project keyword
- Aquaculture
- Arable crops
- Organic farming
- Agro-ecology
- Crop rotation/crop diversification/dual-purpose or mixed cropping
- Food security, safety, quality, processing and nutrition
- Outdoor horticulture and woody crops (incl. viticulture, olives, fruit, ornamentals)
- Fodder and feed
- Greenhouse crops
- Water
Contacts
Project coordinator
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Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Project coordinator
Project partners
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Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. - Leibniz- Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries
Project partner
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PAL-Anlagenbau GmbH Abtshagen
Project partner
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Automation & software Günther Tausch
Project partner
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Beijing CAUIOT Co. Ltd.
Project partner
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Tilamur
Project partner
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Fischerei Müritz-Plau
Project partner
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EUROVIX
Project partner
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Inagro
Project partner
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Fytagoras
Project partner
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AliénorEU
Project partner
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Fraunhofer Application Center System Technology
Project partner
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Wageningen University – Biomass Refinery & Process Dynamics
Project partner
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China Agriculture University
Project partner
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Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute
Project partner
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Havforskningsinstituttet
Project partner
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Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek
Project partner
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IFQ
Project partner