Amsterdam-based Farm in a Box, a startup developing modular, easy-to-assemble recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), has received €350,000 in funding from the North Holland Innovation Fund.
The North Holland Innovation Fund is an initiative of the Province of North Holland, the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, and Sanquin. The Fund supports entrepreneurs in the province of North Holland in financing innovation in the Proof-of-Concept phase by providing convertible loans.
The North Holland Innovation Fund manages two funds: a fund for innovative start-ups, supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and a fund for academic start-ups, supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Ludolf Stavenga, fund manager at Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland, says, “Farm in a Box shows how technological innovation can contribute to sustainable food production. The team combines deep sector knowledge with a scalable concept that can make a global impact. We are proud to support this promising initiative in the crucial phase from development to market introduction.”
The funding will enable the Dutch startup to develop a working prototype (MVP) of the integrated RAS control system.
Additionally, the company is preparing the construction and commissioning of a demonstration unit to support further commercialisation.
Ohad Maiman, Co-Founder and CEO at Farm in a Box, says, ‘We are grateful for the support and trust of the North Holland Innovation Fund. Thanks to their funding, we can take the next step in our development and make significant progress in our operating system and patent applications.’
The company has updated its fish farming system with modular components that can be assembled on-site. This makes it easier and cheaper for fish farmers around the world to start fish production, step by step. They no longer need to deal with expensive and complicated setups that are common today.
Farm in a Box: Recirculating aquaculture systems
Farm in a Box was founded by Ohad Maiman (founder/former CEO of The Kingfish Company) and Thue Holm (founder/former CTO of Atlantic Sapphire) to address the high costs and long construction times that currently hinder the growth of the land-based aquaculture sector.
The company offers a modular, prefab solution for sustainable land-based fish farming with Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS).
The easy-to-assemble modules enable fast, affordable, and scalable fish production, without long construction processes or high costs.
The design of Farm in a Box’s RAS system has been radically revised with prefabricated modular components that can be assembled on site. This enables Farm in a Box to enable fish farmers worldwide to set up fish production quickly and affordably, step by step, unit by unit.
All this without the need to design expensive and complex installations, as is often still the case today.
Thue Holm, Co-Founder and CTO at Farm in a Box says, ‘Having built some of the largest systems in the land-based sector, we know the challenges first-hand. We are excited to solve these bottlenecks with our innovative modular and prefabricated solution,’ said the co-founder.
