Fjord Maritime's hybrid technology cuts fuel costs, noise and pollution for aquaculture

As the aquaculture industry grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to power fish farms in a sustainable manner. Diesel generators create local sea and air pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions. On top of these negative environmental impacts, fuel costs are on the rise and comprise a substantial part of expenses for aquaculture operators.

To better manage power supplies for fish farms, Fjord Maritime has created the Fjord Hybrid® solution. Fjord Hybrid automates power generation and supply for an individual fish farm, optimising all aspects of operation and reducing generator running time by up to 90 per cent.

By cutting running time for generators, Fjord Hybrid also reduces service and maintenance costs, as well as eliminates noise for workers on the barge and any neighbours.

Fjord Hybrid is a plug-and-play system delivered in a container, which can be placed at any suitable location on board a barge – and easily moved from one fish farm to another. The system can also be directly installed inside a vessel, without the need for a container.

The Fjord Hybrid solution is operated remotely through Fjord Maritime’s Fjord Control system. The solution continually transmits information about status and any unexpected events, meaning any necessary corrections can be performed remotely and in real time, thereby securing maximal uptime.

Fjord Hybrid reduces fuel consumption in fish farms by up to 60 per cent, resulting in a corresponding reduction in costs.

Using Fjord Hybrid, fish farms can run their generators for three hours per day, instead of 24 hours, which is the current norm. This cuts greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 per cent compared with traditional operations.

Moreover, reduced running time can extend the lifetime of fish farm power supply systems by up to 60 per cent.

The worldwide market for Fjord Hybrid in the aquaculture industry is per 2019 about 2 300 facilities. The Fjord Hybrid solutions can, however, also be repurposed for other markets and industries which require a flexible and automated power supply.

Fjord Hybrid was developed by Fjord Maritime, a company founded in 2016. Fjord Maritime is a member of the Norwegian Centre of Expertise (NCE) Seafood Innovation Cluster in Western Norway.