Project Purpose and Background

Team

ARK Inc.

Challenge

The high capital and operating costs of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are major barriers to adoption. In particular, the cost of treating and maintaining nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and nitrate directly affects stocking density, energy consumption, and production costs.

Vision

By optimizing nitrogen cycles in closed RAS with AI and automation, we will develop a next-generation modular RAS that significantly reduces the production cost of high-value fish such as groupers to 2,000 yen per kilogram or less. We aim to make distributed land-based aquaculture accessible to anyone, anywhere.

Implementation

This initiative combines next-generation modular RAS development and validation with cost reduction, AI optimization, labor-saving robotics, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to establish an efficient and sustainable distributed aquaculture ecosystem.

1. Hardware optimization and equipment cost reduction

• We modularize and optimize equipment design to significantly reduce equipment costs per unit of water volume.
• Lowering the barrier to installation establishes a foundation for small, distributed aquaculture models.

2. Maximizing water quality and filtration with AI

• We collect water quality and feeding data, including ammonia and nitrate levels, from multiple test tanks and management applications and use it for AI training.
• AI-based parameter control will improve filtration performance, including nitrification and denitrification, by 10 to 20 percent.

3. Minimizing energy use through mass-balance theory

• We calculate optimal circulation flow and pump power from the generation and filtration volume of nitrogen.
• We build algorithms that suppress unnecessary energy consumption and substantially reduce operating electricity costs.

4. Labor saving and productivity through robotics

• We integrate automatic feeders, transport and sorting equipment, and cleaning mechanisms into the aquaculture system.
• This reduces on-site workload and enables stable operation with a small team.

5. Connecting academic knowledge with cross-disciplinary technologies

• We integrate expertise from ecology, microbiology, and water quality engineering to solve aquaculture challenges.
• Combining academic approaches with field technologies strengthens research and validation across the project.

6. Building a social implementation ecosystem through open innovation

• We build partnerships involving municipalities, companies, and financial institutions through programs and co-creation opportunities.
• Beyond technical validation, we design a business and regional ecosystem that enables distributed aquaculture to spread and take root.

Future Development and Scale-up

Packaging as an aquaculture operating system and infrastructure

We will establish a standardized next-generation modular RAS integrating water-quality data control, nitrogen-cycle filtration, and labor-saving robotics. The package can be offered to companies from other industries and municipalities through asset funds and leasing models.

Global expansion and seafood security

We will expand beyond Japan to global markets such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, contributing to global protein demand and sustainable seafood production.