UF001 LokDepot, Basel: The first commercial rooftop aquaponic farm in Switzerland

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1 UF001 LokDepot, Basel: The first commercial rooftop aquaponic farm in Switzerland Andreas Graber, Mark Durno, Roman Gaus, Alex Mathis, Ranka Junge ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Natural Resource Sciences, Waedenswil, Switzerland

2 Introduction Aquaponics is an innovative and sustainable food production system integrating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetal crops (Graber & Junge-Berberovic, 2009). This emerging technology has the potential to play a key role in provision of food while tackling global challenges such as water scarcity, food safety, food security, urbanization, and reductions in energy use and food miles.

3 Google Scholar Hits Annual papers published While Aquaponic is a widely discussed technology today (about 1.9m hits on Google in May 2014), only very few research papers were published describing efficiency and performance of real systems.

4 A quick glance at citation statistics Keyword Google Google Scholar Ratio* "membrane reactor technology" Photovoltaic Aquaculture Hydroponic "Wastewater-fed aquaculture" "Green roofs" "Building integrated agriculture" Aquaponics * This ratio might be describing a «media hype factor» What is «hot» is not necessarily well researched!

5 Realised projects are rare Farm Operators Location Realised examples Information Type Size (m2) Produce (tons/annum) Eli Zabar's Vinegar Factory New York City Eli Zabar's Garten soil ca no data Sky Vegetables New York City Farm Bronx hydro 743 no data Gotham Greens, New York City Greenpoint Brooklyn hydro Top Sprouts Boston, MA no object declared hydro - - last BLOG 2009 Cityscape Farms San Francisco no object declared aqua - - website abandoned AeroFarms New York City no object declared hydro - - Lufa Farms Montreal 1 Rooftop-Farm hydro BrightFarm Systems New York City last news 2013, hydro - - planning Big Box Farms New York City no object declared hydro - - last news 2011 Plantagon Sweden planning in Lingkoping hydro - - SweetWaterOrganics Milwaukee closed operation as commercial; object used for education aqua not clear no data PodPonics Atlanta Launch 2010 hydro - - Cargo Containers no object declared Met Farm Rotterdam Launch 2012 hydro indoor, LED lighting, indoor + vertical UrbanFarmers Zürich UF001, Basel aqua t vegetables 600 kg Fish Z-Farm (Rennert & Kloas) Berlin 2009 aqua t Tomatoes 600 kg Fish

6 Institute of Natural Resource Sciences IUNR Focal points Biological farming Ecological engineering Integrative ecology Landscape and tourism Urban Greening

7 R & D projects in Waedenswil We developed our approach to Aquaponic during nearly 20 years of continuous R & D in more than 20 projects. Some eminent projects: : Reuse of hydroponic nutrient solution in Wastewater-fed Aquaculture : Aquaculture plant Otelfingen for treatment of biogas-effluent : Ecological Improvement of Greenhouse Cultivation by Integration of Aquaculture: Tropenhaus Ruswil : Aquaponic as new source of income for swiss farmers We studied different fish species (Tilapia, Trout, Perch) and a broad array of vegetables and ornamentals under temperate, alpine, and tropical conditions. In addition we developed and are still developing educational modules for schools and professionals.

8 Aquaponics is a key technology to achieve a resource efficient production Aquaculture Hydroponics BENEFITS Nutrient utilization Low water consumption Plant production in addition to fish DISADVANTAGES X Fish and plant knowledge required X Complex system requires considerable expertise

9 Advantages of Aquaponics in urban farming No use of pesticides or antibiotics Making food `local`- Reduced CO 2 footprint (zero food miles, no storage) Adding greenery in cities = evaporation of water, cooling Nearly closed nutrient cycles based on natural processes 100% natural culture, minimised use of fertilisers Reduced energy input Perfect food safety control Approx. 90% reduction in water consumption compared to traditional agriculture Increased efficiency due to vertical mounting options BUT!!! This is only possible if the system is operated optimally.

10 Aquaponics Lab1 at ZHAW: established 2004 Rainwater Fishfodder Fish (Perca fluviatilis) Hydroponic with LECA Irrigation

11 Aquaponics Lab2 at ZHAW: established separate RAS systems of 4 m 3 each 3 separate Hydroponic systems with 3 subsystems each Research group on Aquaculture & Aquaponics andreas.graber@zhaw.ch

12 2011: ZHAW spin-off UrbanFarmers Ltd. UrbanFarmers AG is a clean-tech start-up & Spin-off from the University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Waedenswil, Switzerland. UF develops cost-efficient, sustainable and reliable systems to grow food in the city at large scale. The benefit for our customers is fresh & healthy food, produced in a safe environment, directly at the point of consumption, eliminating emissions, transportation distances and cost. Roman Gaus Andreas Graber UrbanFarmers AG UrbanFarmers AG 12

13 UF001 LokDepot: the world s first Aquaponic rooftop farm with commercial purpose Foto: by Raphi See Key figures: 260 m 2 of production space, Construction budget USD Farm operation going live in Q Capacity of producing annually kg vegetables & 800 kg fish UrbanFarmers

14 Project structure

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16 UrbanFarmers AG 16

17 Aquaponics how does it work? Fish feed 1kg Fresh water 300 L Evapotranspiration 290 L «fish water» cleaned water Fish harvest 700 g Fish sludge 2 L Tomato harvest 5-10 kg

18 Aquaponics according to the «Waedenswil model» AQUACULTURE UNIT // FISH HALL HYDROPONIC UNIT // GREENHOUSE + O2 + UV BIOFILTER H Y D R O P O N I C SOLIDS THICKE- NING SOLIDS REMOVAL F I S H TA N K SLUDGE S U M P COMPOSTING UNIT // OUTDOORS VERMICOMPOSTING

19 basin 1 basin 2 basin 3 basin 4 basin 5 The Waedenswil Model in practice: Floor plan of the rooftop farm N stair table 2 microgreen s table 4 microgreen s table 6 rafts table 8 rafts working table, sink TANK 3 TANK 4 table 1 seedlings table 3 microgreen s table 5 rafts table 7 rafts NFT1 high low NFT2 TANK 2 TANK 1 UV/ OxiJet Ozone sludge separation Biofilter Drum filter oxygenators/ blowers UF001 LokDepot Top View (scale 1:100), April 8, 2013

20 UF Controller: Process control ensures productivity, safety & efficiency UF AQUAPONIC PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM ("UF CONTROLLER") Automates nutrient balance between fish feed, fish population and plant cultures O 2, ph, LF, water temperature NS+ degassing CO 2 gasifier O 2 ph-lift KOH Fish food NS+ Sludge Separator Biofilter: NS- channel cultures NS- Drinking water NS+ Fresh Fish NH 4 NS- NH 4 ->NO 2 ->NO 3 N 2 raft cultures NS- Vegetable harvest Controlled elements (O2, CO2 etc.) Water flow Solids (fish feed, sludge) Fish sludge NS- dryer Fertilizer NS = Nutrients UrbanFarmers AG UrbanFarmers AG

21 Results of the first year of operation Balance from July 1, 2013 until June 30, 2014 Input \ Output unit # Water m3 763 Electricity MWh 20.9 Heat MWh 32.2 Vegetables produced total kg Vegetable shrinkage (waste, quality, overcapacity) kg 577 Fish produced total kg 706 Fish shrinkage (waste, quality, overcapacity) kg 10 This means: an aquaponic rooftop farm produces 2.7 kg fish/a and 13.1 kg vegetables/a per m 2 of roof

22 Rooftop Farming Potential: Example Basel, Switzerland Total available vacant rooftop area in the city of Basel: m 2 Key decision criteria for UF: a) FAR (floor-to-area ratio) b) Commercial & Industrial Zoning c) Weight constraint and d) Size (>500 m 2 ) Estimated Potential: 5% used for rooftop farms = 100,000 m 2! 340 t fish = consumed by people p.a t of vegetables = consumed by people p.a. The city of Basel has inhabitants, UrbanFarmers could contribute 8-20% to the fresh fish and vegetable consumption in Basel.

23 Aquaponics still offers many challenges Energy - renewable electricity supply from photovoltaics - reduction of heating energy demand - additional lighting (LED? Induction?) Climate control - humidity, temperature, light vs shading/insulation Water management - Rainwater harvesting and pretreatment - Optimal nutrient & ph levels for plants (additives) Organic matter / Organisms - Pest control (beneficial bacteria ) - Optimum fish feed (= permanent system input!) - Composting of the fish sludge and plant waste - New varieties of vegetables and fish Building integration - interfaces of rooftop farm with existing building

24 COST ACTION FA1305 The EU Aquaponics Hub: Realising Sustainable Integrated Fish and Vegetable Production for the EU

25 Aquaponics and Urban Agriculture URBAN AGRICULTURE: Production of food in urban setting Extensive: Low-tech Soil based Labour-intensive Private consumption Intensive: High-tech Soilless Capital-intensive Food for the city Community gardens Aquaponic gardens Aquaponic rooftop farm Vertical Farming (Suwon) Social insertion Know-how input Energy input

26 Integration of food production into the city Integration of food production into the city Between the built structures Building integrated agriculture (BIA) CPULS, community gardens Multifunctional buildings Monofunctional buildings Add-on Integrated Vertical farms Aquaponics can be implemented in many ways

27 KORANET Korean scientific cooperation network with the European Research Area Joint Call on Green Technologies Zero Emission Buildings - Integrating Sustainable Technologies and Infrastructure Systems ZEB - ISTIS contact the project coordinator: ranka.junge@zhaw.ch

28 Building Integrated Agriculture: Techniques and options Open-air Greenhouse Horizontal BIA Techniques and options Soil based Soilless Hydroponic Aquaponic Vertical

29 Zero Emission Buildings (adapted after Schuetze & Zeisel, 2010)

30 To conclude... Aquaponics is only ONE technology amongst others that should become an integral part of the «greener cities for tomorrow». Further innovations are required that simplify operations and enable costeffective aquaponic farming, while making the products safe for human consumption: new planting techniques new varieties of produce efficient biological pest control (beneficial microorganisms ) irrigation techniques integration with existing building infrastructures.