»muKs«

Protected cultivation can strengthen local year-round production, but is often material- and energy-intensive, costly and technically complex. In marine and brackish systems, coupled production is further limited by the conflicting salinity requirements of marine animals, extractive organisms and terrestrial plants. 

The aim is to design, build and operate modular, easy-to-use muKs in existing agricultural buildings. Core elements are a brackish-water demonstrator, improved nutrient efficiency, an AI-based System Health Index, sustainable kiri wood materials, regional value chains and additional brackish-water cultivation concepts. 

The project is structured into six work packages: expansion of a house-in-house demonstrator with shrimp, polyculture, macroalgae and plants; development of a bypass solution for salinity reduction and intelligent nutrient and filtration control; monitoring of water, animal and plant parameters to build an AI-based System Health Index; testing of sustainable materials; and LCA, market and economic analyses. 

Expected outcomes include an operational muKs demonstrator, validated system components for monitoring, nutrient management and material substitution, and transferable concepts for regional sustainable food production. The project is intended to provide a basis for publications, follow-up projects, patents and marketable system, material and product concepts.