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Landeldi’s RAS waste recycling project gets EU funding

Landeldi’s  Terraforming LIFE project to convert recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) waste into energy and fertilizer was recently awarded a grant worth €6.3 million (US$6.8 million) from the European Union.

The joint project which involves Landeldi ehf., the Farmers’ Association, Orkídea, Ölfus Cluster and SMJ from the Faroe Islands, with support from Blue Ocean Technology in Norway, aims to develop a new method to produce fertilizer and biogas from the organic waste that is produced during aquaculture on land and from agriculture, according to the Farmers Association of Iceland.

Terraforming LIFE is the first project of its kind in Iceland to receive funding from the EU’s Environment and Climate Program. The project involves the use of sludge treatment and pyrolysis technology which enables efficient carbon capture.

“In this lies an extremely exciting opportunity for the utilization of organic side streams from fish farming on land. The products will benefit the Icelandic cycle system and improve the environmental impact of aquaculture by producing not only fertilizer for agricultural production but also carbon-neutral fuel, electricity and heat,” said Rúnar Þór Þórarinsson, project manager and Landeldi’s representative.

Landeldi is comprised of entrepreneurs with diverse experiences in fish farming, construction, geothermal utilization, business and finance.

Another project of Landeldi is the Deep Atlantic. It is a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility that will use water from underground wells of seawater that has been naturally filtered through layers of lava. The water will also be heated  by the geothermal energy from the crust surrounding the area. All the energy needed to pump water, power equipment and run the local operation are met through the national grid of energy from renewable sources of hydro, geothermal and wind, according to the plan.