Project description
Closing the market gap for European lobsters
The global demand for lobster exceeds supplies by far. European lobster (EL) stocks were significantly reduced in the 1950s and have yet to recover, so neither EL nor the capture production of lower-quality American lobster can fill the market gap. Furthermore, land-based aquaculture is practically, technologically and commercially unviable because lobsters are highly cannibalistic and need to be cultured in individual cages, thus raising personnel costs significantly. To address this problem, the EU-funded AUTOMARUS project aims to introduce the first recirculating aquaculture system-based EL farming solution. It involves growing the lobsters in individual cages using fully automated feeding and real-time monitoring and robotic lobster handling. This could lead to profitable and sustainable large-scale production of high-quality EL.
Objective
European lobster (EL, Homarus gammarus) is among the most exclusive shellfish products worldwide, but stocks collapsed in the
1950s and have not recovered in the decades since. The global demand for lobster far exceeds supplies, and neither EL nor capture
production of lower-quality American lobster (H. americanus, AL) can fill the market gap. With the price of EL at €25-35/kg, the
European seafood industry is missing out on a clear market opportunity. Land-based aquaculture is the remaining alternative, but
current aquaculture methods are practically, technologically and commercially unviable as lobsters are highly cannibalistic and
cannot be reared in groups but must be cultured in individual cages necessitating unfeasibly high personnel costs. Tha aim of the AUTOMARUS project is to mature, prototype, pilot and implement the first Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) based EL farming solution in individual cages using fully automated feeding and real-time monitoring and robotic lobster handling for the production of European Lobster. Our innovative solution will thus enable profitable and sustainable large-scale production of high quality EL for the first time to fit the market gap and create a novel value chain for farmed EL. The AUTOMARUS project will be run by a strong mnagement team with a proven track record in lobster aquaculture, engineering and robotics/automation as well as managing and scaling R&D-intense companies. With a production target of 1,000 tonnes by year 5 after project end, NLF will be the sole supplier of farmed EL and expect to take a 16% share of the European lobster production market and 8% the total market for EL and AL across EU and Asia.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering control systems
- social sciences sociology industrial relations automation
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4160 Finnoy
Norway
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.