DANUBEAQUA

DANUBEAQUA demonstrates how renewable energy and digital technologies can transform aquaculture in the Danube and Black Sea region into a climate-neutral, competitive, and resilient food sector. Aquaculture in this region—dominated by ponds, flow-through raceways, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), biofloc units, and emerging marine cages—faces high energy costs, growing climate pressures, and competition from imports. Energy often represents the second largest cost after feed, and current systems depend heavily on fossil fuels for pumping, aeration, heating, and transport. The project will develop and demonstrate integrated solutions that combine renewable energy sources (floating PV, wind, geothermal, biogas, waste heat) with aquaculture-specific Energy Management Systems (EMS), precision digital tools for feeding and water quality, and system-specific innovations tailored to carp, trout, and African catfish production as well as Black Sea trout cages. Seven demonstration sites across Hungary, Romania, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic will validate these solutions in real farm conditions, supported by strong involvement of farmers, SMEs, and cooperatives. DANUBEAQUA’s methodology applies a farmers-first approach, engaging producers as co-designers and end-users of innovations, while ensuring multi-actor participation of research institutes, SMEs, farmer associations, and policy stakeholders. Social sciences, governance analysis, and gender-sensitive measures will be integrated to guarantee adoption and social acceptance. Open science practices, including co-creation of a Data Management Plan and harmonised life-cycle assessments, will make results transparent, reproducible, and scalable.