Smart Floating Farms
LOCATION: Barcelona, Spain
SUMMARY: Implement a series of non-pollutant Multi-layered floating platforms at a local and potentially global level, which can bring healthy food production closer to dense populated areas based on clean energy. These could be located specially in areas with food-risk associated problems, lack of land ,arid regions, water scarcity, massive food imports or monsoon floodings.
PROBLEM SPACE: “By 2030, food demand is predicted to increase by 50% (70% by 2050).Some facts: traditional Farming=Wasteful water use.Many countries with massive food imports >80% (i.e Gulf states,Singapore,Caribbean region) generating land-grabs and transport CO2 emissions.Others with floodings like Bangladesh,other with land premium prices, water scarcity,hyper-populated ,etc.
We propose a modular and replicable Floating platforms project which could help improve local food production conditions in a cleaner way, implementing them in previously studied & selected areas of the water spaces close to many mega-cities with a physical water access (seas-lakes-rivers-reservoirs).
The project is meant to cause a positive impact at both local and global levels, starting in an acupuncture scale, by providing a space for communitary production(cooperative projects), with the potential of creating new emergent economies and some of the platforms also becoming automated Farm Clusters run by the use of Internet of Things (IoT). At a global scale, it could be located in different world areas, since it is a flexible initiative able to adapt its dimensions to the local food production needs(and types), actually the project has attracted the attention of people from regions/countries as different as India,Caribbean,Singapore,Gulf states,Taiwan,US,South Africa or the UK,etc.”
SOLUTION: The project is a Polyculture based solution, a highly productive floating ecosystem. Use of a Multi-layered strategy which deals with the symbiosis / combination of different existing technologies in order to produce what we need more of, fresh and healthy food closer to our home. The top level of the SFF will integrate the green energy production facilities (Photovoltaic plant- concentrated solar power (CSP) , combined with skylights). The resultant green power generated along with induction of natural sunlight, will be used for the second level layout of the hydroponic farm (growing crops) and also to run the overall facility. The waste byproducts from these crops can be further used for feeding the fishes on the lower level (Fish farming) , while the controlled waste from the fish farms can recycled as fertilizers for the hydroponic farm äóñ thus a self-sufficient cycle and recycle process.Passive and active desalination methods are considered and potential for utilizing sea-water cooled greenhouse. The facilities are structurally capable of resisting the atmospheric conditions and also allow further reinforcements if required according to the location.They will be protected in their perimeter via a series of inflatable wave protectors, thus avoiding wave risks and other climate threats.The SFF project is to be built out of well tested materials, technologies and systems, which are already in use around the globe, its all available in the market. The SFF footprint has a shape of a rectangle inspired by Asia’s traditional grid-shape fish floating farms, an efficient configuration which is rational and allows for maximum space for production.We aim to start implementing smaller scale prototypes (as in a Minimum Viable project, to collect the maximum amount of validated learning ) in areas where other alternative food production initiatives are urgently required due to imports, rapid population growth, risks etc.
CONTACT: Javier Ponce, Founder, [email protected]