How smart sensors are making fish farming greener – and more profitable

Advanced sensor technologies are reshaping many industries, and aquaculture is no exception. Danish startup EWA Sensors recognised a major gap in monitoring systems for recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which require precise, real-time data to ensure fish welfare and operational reliability. 

Already successful in other sectors, EWA Sensors turned to the Enterprise Europe Network to find international partners. With the Network’s support, EWA formed a powerful Eurostars-funded collaboration, uniting sensor expertise, aquaculture knowledge, and practical fish-farming experience to improve conditions and reduce risks in RAS facilities.

Innovative sensors to tackle aquaculture’s unique challenges

Founded in 2020, EWA Sensors emerged from a clear market need: traditional tools for monitoring fish farm conditions were bulky and not suited for real-time analytics. The startup responded with compact, intelligent sensors offering real-time early warnings of machinery wear and failure, cutting maintenance costs and reducing downtime.

Recognising the unique needs of RAS facilities, EWA identified aquaculture as their next frontier. These systems require continuous, precise monitoring to maintain optimal conditions, support fish health and reduce mortality. As CEO Eva Kühne, explains, the company’s technology "can make a difference and increase operational reliability through robust and valid real-time monitoring," delivering both economic benefits and more sustainable fish farming.

Yet entering aquaculture requires specialised knowledge. To succeed, EWA needed experienced international partners. Through Enterprise Europe Network’s matchmaking, EWA connected with Portuguese aquaculture platform developer Senseaway and German fish farm InfiniteSea, combining their complementary strengths to elevate their Eurostars proposal. "Through the Enterprise Europe Network, EWA Sensors got in touch with a handful of relevant partners with complementary expertise. This secured us the right partners and raised the level of our Eurostars’ project proposal," says Kühne.

Building international partnerships for sustainable aquaculture

The Enterprise Europe Network played a critical role in bringing together the international team behind this innovation. Anders Skeem from Food & Bio Cluster Denmark, EWA’s primary contact, recognised the strong potential of EWA’s powerful proposal: "EWA Sensors presented a compelling combination of innovative technology and a clear vision for its application in aquaculture. Their proactive approach and readiness to collaborate made them a strong candidate for the Eurostars programme."

Anders collaborated closely with German partner  saaris, a business development agency for the Saarland region of Germany. Leveraging their network, they found the perfect partner, InfiniteSea, a fish farm operating its own RAS facility. Carine Messerschmidt from saaris explains, "We saw the profile of our Danish colleague and conducted targeted research in our region to identify a suitable match. InfiniteSea immediately saw the potential in the proposed collaboration and expressed strong interest."

InfiniteSea’s practical experience was crucial, as their RAS systems require the highest reliability standards. As Andreas Mäck of InfiniteSea puts it: "In RAS farms, the technology is the life-support system for the fish. It must be designed, engineered, and built as failure-proof as possible." He emphasises the project’s key contribution: "A combination of different, best early warning sensors allows us to act before anything happens."

More than halfway through the Eurostars-funded DeRISK project, the partnership has proven exceptionally successful, creating a blueprint for future aquaculture operations. "We at InfiniteSea see our RAS system and our farm as a blueprint, which we want to multiply at other locations. We plan to implement the results in future satellite InfiniteSea-technology-based farms," says Mäck.

The Eurostars project has not only enhanced operational safety and efficiency but also paved the way for ongoing collaboration. Kühne concludes, "I find the project and the collaboration very exciting and I believe this is the beginning of a long-term business collaboration for EWA Sensors."