NAPOP's first VIRIDIH2-PISCI facility will be established in Rendalen, Norway.
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Norwegian green hydrogen company NAPOP has announced it is embarking on a new project bringing together hydrogen production and fish farming, having recently secured aquaculture permits to produce up to 6,000 tons of fish per year.
Located in Rendalen, Norway, the VIRIDIH2-PISCI model facility will utilize a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) built on land, seamlessly integrated with a 6 MW hydrogen electrolysis plant.
The plant's energy demands will be mainly met through local solar power, and the excess oxygen and heat produced through hydrogen production will be used to farm fish.
"VIRIDIH2-PISCI is NAPOP's concept for sustainable electrolytic hydrogen production where all value streams from electrolysis find their application," the company said in a Norwegian-language press release.
"In VIRIDIH2, electrolysis delivers hydrogen and oxygen with extreme purity. The oxygen is used directly as a raw material in fish farming, along with the deployment of heat from the electrolyzer. Like hydrogen production, all product streams are also utilized in the aquaculture facility, including by-products from the water phase."
The facilities are being built with smart energy connectivity that makes them available as resources for the power distribution system. The concept is patent pending, NAPOP noted.
NAPOP CEO Terje Paulsen said that the company envisages its system being established and adapted to different regions and locations.
"The first facility will be established in Rendalen (VIRIDIH2-PISCI Mistra), where we now have the necessary aquaculture licenses. This will be followed by a facility located in connection with the outlet of Krøderen," Paulsen explained.
"Production of fish on land requires capacities for temperature regulation and large amounts of oxygen. The hydrogen will find its application not least in our own technology used in NAPOP CTC heating centers and our energy stations (NAPOP ES), which utilize hydrogen for the production of electrical energy," he added.
"In a society where we increasingly see undesirable effects of past industrial practices, in all sectors and areas, the need for holistic thinking around sustainable community development hits us with force," added Aage Bjørn Andersen, CEO of VIRIDIH2, NAPOP's subsidiary developing the projects.
"We must think circularity in everything we do, which includes second-order resource management where the two solutions are about abolishing what we traditionally have called waste and emissions. This is precisely the pillar of our strategy," Andersen affirmed.
NAPOP AS was established in 2021 and works with establishing hydrogen value chains, including production, distribution, and deployment of hydrogen. The company delivers products that convert energy stored in hydrogen into usable energy, including electricity and heat. These products are adapted for stationary as well as temporary and mobile needs. The construction and engineering sector is an initial market for these products. NAPOP works with sustainable, waste-free production of hydrogen, combined with users of the resources oxygen and heat, which may include aquaculture and productions using oxy-fuel processes.
VIRIDIH2 works broadly with the early introduction of hydrogen production and evaluates mobile solutions based on electrolysis as well as alternatives for bio-hydrogen production. VIRIDIH2-PISCI represents VIRIDIH2's long-term strategy for combined waste-free production of energy and food. NAPOP's production strategy is implemented by its subsidiary, VIRIDIH2.
