G.R.A.S.S. - Green Renewable Aquaponic Solar System

Global population is growing and it is moving more and more towards urban centers; researches estimate that our planet will reach 10 billion people by 2050 and that, by that time, 66% of them will live in cities. We are depleting land and water resources and feed the world’s population is one of the biggest challenges of this century. Aquaponic represents a smart solution that can solve these problems: with these systems, it is possible to grow your own organic food (both vegetables and fish) in urban environment, while saving up to 90% of the water in respect traditional agriculture.

While aquaponics is already an efficient technique to grow food, there is still much room for improvement. First, most of the systems are feed with grid energy, which is not always produced with renewable sources. Moreover, the existing systems are either produced for commercial uses or DIY (lower efficiency and not reproducible).

With our solution, the electricity to power the aquaponics plant will be produced using PV panels. Since the use of PV is not always convenient, our system is sold together with a solar quote, who will outsource the production of renewable energy to cooperatives operating big collective PV parks. In this way, the energy to run the circulating pump and the lights for the needs of both the plants and the fishes will be 100 % renewable, improving the sustainable energy share in the Netherlands. The structure will be modular, giving the possibility to fit the needs of each type of client. The process is fully automated, reducing at a minimum the tasks that need to be performed by the user. Finally, the structure and the greenhouse are produced following the Cradle-to-Cradle principles: only recycled AND recyclable materials will be implemented, creating a fully sustainable solution.