https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101768.html

NEDO is subsidising a “Demonstration Study on Advanced Energy-Saving Shrimp Aquaculture System Using Local Biomass” as part of the “International Demonstration Project for Japanese Technologies Contributing to Decarbonization and Energy Transition”. A fully operated “Energy-Saving Shrimp Aquaculture Integrated System” using biomass was now opened by TH AQUA Co., Ltd., a local company in Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam.

This system generates electricity using solid oxide fuel cells fueled by biogas generated from biomass that is a mixture of aquaculture sludge and locally produced lemongrass waste, and this is the first case of shrimp aquaculture using SOFCs.

In Vietnam, many businesses use antibiotics and other substances when farming shrimp. The Vietnamese government aims to build sustainable shrimp farming while moving away from chemicals and improving productivity and quality. However, there is no established method for treating sludge from shrimp farming, and the pollution of rivers and surrounding soil due to the disposal of sludge containing chemicals has become a social issue. Against this background, NEDO has been working on this demonstration research as part of this project since fiscal 2020. This system uses SOFC fueled by biogas generated from biomass that is a mixture of shrimp farming sludge and locally produced lemongrass waste to generate electricity and provide the electricity needed for aquaculture.