MARLIN AQUA - Sustainable Energy Access for Offshore Aquaculture

'MARLIN AQUA - Modular Floating Platform' for Aquaculture project aims explore/address the challenge of oceanic aquaculture by applying a 'Modular System Approach' enabling offshore floating platform configurations to be designed, analysed, assembled, and installed that directly respond to the customers' operational needs and constraints. Floating offshore wind for aquaculture is a new concept and has focussed on the application of utility scale turbines. Smaller individual products are feasible, and the modular approach reduces installation costs.

Primary focus is on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Overfishing of the sea and tidal rivers, estuaries, and deltas has resulted in depletion of precious fish stocks, it harms ecosystems and ultimately means that our oceans will be less abundant/productive for future generations. Aquaculture as a sector within the 'Blue Economy' is being driven by the need to provide a significant proportion of food for global populations. In this context, helps efforts to strengthen food security (SDG2), promote sustainable economic growth (SDG8), promote sustainable consumption and production (SDG12), as well as strengthen global partnerships for sustainable development (SDG17).

A key area for growth being Atlantic salmon farming in Scotland, Norway, Canada, Chile, all with expansion plans in offshore operations (Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Ref: Offshore Aquaculture report April 2022). Shifting operations to deeper water provides opportunity to address the challenges associated with aquaculture in practice, with potential to positively impact:

* Water quality management and disease control
* Level of reliance on fossil fuels
* Offshore operative H&S during fuel transfers

Using a Design for NetZero people and planet systemic approach the project will explore:

-With key stakeholders (fish farm owners/operators, industry, government, academia) the challenges, issues, pressures in the aquaculture sector enabling development of a platform designed based on their own practices/needs.

-Identifying energy related opportunities to improve cost-effective installation, operation, and maintenance of the generating equipment.

The project aims to help Frontier Technical overcome major constraints to transformational change in the sector, shifting away from motives that investment in innovation goes into extending the lifespan of existing systems that are, at heart, no longer fit for purpose. By looking at and beyond the problems inherent in the current practices allows the potential for a different system to emerge, evolving current practice, designing not only in a systems-conscious way, but a system-shifting way. Design outputs will support investment pitches or future funding applications.