80 NEWS- TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY From AI in fish farms to underwater drones, 2021 saw invention aplenty
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T the start of the year, SalmoSim, a salmon simulator startup, secured its first commercial contract with California-based Calysta. The simulation is supporting trials for a sustainable alternative protein source that could be rolled out across the global aquaculture industry. Using a gut simulator that mimics the digestive tract of Atlantic salmon, SalmoSim is conducting a trial of Calysta’s single-cell feed ingredient FeedKind protein, which is made by fermenting natural gas. Results from the simulation, taking place at the University of Glasgow, will provide Calysta with valuable data on digestibility. Conventional in vivo trials can cost up to £150,000 each time. The SalmoSim gut simulator was first developed as part of a collabo-
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rative research project that began in 2016, funded in part by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC). The consortium, led by the University of Glasgow, included Nofima, Alltech and Mowi, with the Marine Institute and University College Cork both involved in a linked project. Also in January, Benchmark Genetics appointed Bara Gunnlaugsdottir as Head of Digital Technologies, with a brief to develop the company’s strategy and innovation. Her role involves driving the digital strategy and innovation programmes of the business area, including the responsibility for all strategic management systems within production, quality and environment. Gunnlaugsdottir joined the company’s Icelandic operation, StofnFiskur, in 2004 as Production Manager. Before being appointed to the new position, she has been heading the division’s Strategic Business Systems, a job she has held since 2018. On 10 January, aquaculture technology business AKVA was hit by a major cyberattack. It took several weeks to get the business running normally and the company estimated later that the attack had cost it more than £4m. It is believed the attackers were looking to extract a ransom from the company.
This page from top: The SalmoSim team; Bara Gunnlaugsdottir Opposite from top: Lou Cooperhouse, BlueNalu; Observe Technologies screenshot
29/11/2021 14:05:28
