Demonstration of commercial scale Lemna production in vertical farming and coupling with fish farming to foster circular economy and improve sustainability in relevant protein supply chains

Introduction

Aim of the project is the demonstration of the first large-scale vertical Lemna cultivation to produce high-value Lemna protein for food and feed at project end. Input for Lemna cultivation is waste heat and CO2, which will be reused instead of being released to the environment, as well as renewable power and fertilizer.

Objectives

LEMNERGY will prove that fertilizer demand can also be satisfied by industrial waste products. Therefore, the coupling of vertical Lemna farming with fish farming will be demonstrated in a small-scale combined circular plant where:

1. Lemna output is used as fish feed.
2. Aquaculture waste is reused as fertilizer and CO2 input for Lemna cultivation.

Circular Economy Support

Hence, LEMNERGY will support the transition to a circular economy by applying a circular approach for Lemna cultivation using waste and by-products of other industries as input materials. The circular LEMNERGY technology enables industrial symbiosis of:

• CO2-/energy-intensive industries
• Food/feed production industry
• Aquaculture industry

This approach has not been tested or applied before.

Vertical Farming Challenges

Although vertical farming is an upcoming technology, water lentils such as Lemna have not been farmed on an industrial scale in such a system before. The scalable Lemna cultivation was not practical due to efficiency, costs, and safety requirements.

Environmental Advantages

LEMNERGY shows significant environmental advantages compared to current best practice solutions in all involved sectors, including:

• Possibility to reuse aquaculture waste
• Use of low-temperature waste heat
• Diverse environmental benefits compared to alternative protein sources such as soy, fish, and livestock

For example:

• -99% water consumption and land use
• -88% GHG emissions
• -76% energy consumption

Policy Contribution

Hence, LEMNERGY contributes to the implementation and updating of EU environmental and climate policies and helps to increase public awareness.

Scalability and Replication

Furthermore, the technology enables upscaling, broad replication, and transfer to other energy-intensive and CO2 emitting industries on an even larger scale.