The company produces sustainable King Prawns in a vertical aquaculture system. It was first founded in 2020 by CEO John Diener and CTO Enzo Acerbi.
“This is a fully autonomous way of cultivating shrimps with indoor systems. It is also a zero-waste system, meaning zero water discharge, fully recirculating water. It’s also a multitrophic system – we also grow macroalgae to clean the water,” said Acerbi.
Speaking to AgTechNavigator, Acerbi revealed that the firm is preparing to finalise its Series B funding round and will initiate its Series C fundraising by next year.
The progress comes amid the firm’s expansion drive.
According to Acerbi, it is in the process of building a 50-tank facility that will be up and running for production by March next year.
It is currently selling its shrimps in Singapore, but plans are underway to enter Europe and the US as it sees strong appreciation for its products in those markets.
Farm to fork
This system enables same-day harvest, allowing shrimp to be served fresh rather than frozen.
This opportunities for a farm-to-fork approach, ensuring shrimp move directly from production to consumers with maximum freshness and transparency.
“As a small batch system, there’s always iHabs ready to harvest every day,” said Acerbi.
In particular, this could enable distributors and retailers to offer consumers near-instant access to fresh shrimp.
“You could have really fresh shrimp just right there. Who more could benefit from this system. It’s a possibility, but this is something we are still discussing,” said Acerbi.
Vertical aquaculture
The shrimp cultivated in small batches within intelligent habitats, or iHabs, that are fitted with the technology that manages everything from shrimp feed to the tank’s water quality. This allows it to run for extended periods without human intervention.
“The system was designed to be movable… Periodically, the robotic lift brings it down to a central station where we perform some husbandry – like a quick Formula 1 pit stop,” said Acerbi.
The company also practices the redistribution of shrimp between the iHabs when the tank density goes beyond a certain threshold.
“[Density] is a critical parameter. There’s a natural density threshold which if exceeded, causes stress to the animals. Too many of them in the same space affects their growth and mortality. It’s very important never to go beyond that threshold if you want to be efficient and productive,” said Acerbi.
The company has been able to maintain 90% survival rate from stocking to harvest.
Unlike other vertical farming operations, Vertical Oceans is not bogged down by energy costs.
According to Acerbi, its system is energy efficient, with one iHab consuming the same amount of energy as a gaming computer.
He explained: “With vertical farming, the product that you’re growing is so high volume and low density that in order to make it work economically, especially from the energy point of view, then you need to build these very huge facilities where you have to produce so much because otherwise your margins are very low.
“But shrimps are completely different. The margins of shrimp are much higher and much denser. One kilogram of shrimp doesn’t occupy a lot of space and it’s very, very valuable. So, energy requirements, when you take into account the amount of biomass that you’re producing and the economical return of selling that biomass, the energy cost of that number is very, very low.”
