Aeration compressor cuts Cermaq's carbon footprint

Cermaq Canada cut CO2 emissions from its operations by more than 76,000 kg in 2021, using a new aeration technology from Poseidon Ocean Systems. Cermaq has been trialling Poseidon’s Flowpressor™ aeration compressor systems at two of the salmon farmer’s sites in British Columbia. The trial took place at the Simmonds Point and Wehlis Bay farms from May through November 2021, and involved using Flowpressors to power Cermaq’s standard Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) systems instead of conventional diesel compressors. HABs can dramatically reduce the levels of oxygen in the sea where they occur, causing mass mortalities, so fish farmers need to be able to add dissolved oxygen into the pens at relatively short notice. Brock Thomson, Cermaq Canada’s Innovation Director, said: “The trial demonstrated the viability of the Flowpressor technology to power our existing conventional bloom mitigation equipment, while producing 60% less greenhouse gas emissions. The overall result is that we have slashed emissions and dramatically reduced our fuel costs while improving overall performance of the mitigation system.” Matt Clarke, CEO and Co-Founder of Poseidon Ocean Systems, said: “We’re thrilled with the results of the trial. When we developed this technology we projected a 60% reduction in emissions while also improving the performance of their aeration systems, but I think it was fair for customers to be a bit sceptical of those claims. Now that we’ve delivered as promised, we couldn’t be happier. This is a result our engineering team can be very proud of.” Last year, Poseidon’s Flowpressor technology received the first-ever Aquaculture Innovation Award from Innovate BC, leading to a grant of more than CAN$180,000 (£105,900) to develop “Oxypressor”, an oxygen-generating variant of Flowpressor, which is due to be trialled at a Cermaq site in early 2022.