None of the engineers I consulted thought it was possible to build it in PE-plastic. They told be to come back when I wanted to build it with steel and concrete, says founder Arne Berge.
The founder of FishGLOBE, Berge, wantet to build the fish farm with the most popular plastic in the world: Polyethylene. However, none of the engineers he consulted thought it was possible. They told me to come back when I wanted to build it with steel and concrete, Berge explains. So I started with small prototypes to show that the technology worked.
For the past six years, Berge has simplified the design to keep costs down. The post-smolt facility FishGLOBE V5 has a diameter of 22 meter (72 feet), and a 19 meter (62 feet) tall drain pipe is placed in the center. Around the drain pipe are six smaller supply pipes, which also supports the structure of the seemingly round globe. It is in fact 24-edged and made of prefabricated elements from Wasa, Finland, where the main contractor Uponor Infra is located. They have engaged their subcontractor ØPD at Stathelle in Telemark, Norway, to build the post-smolt facility.
The post-smolt fish farm FishGLOBE V5 will be the largest polyethylene construction in the world. It will have a durability of a hundred years and is recyclable explains Geir-Arne Berg, Industrial Manager in Uponor. Because the construction is a fully closed system, you can transport the fish in and out of the globe by using compressors to fill the globe with air. The water is gently squeezed out of the post-smolt facility without unnecessary strain or damage to the fish. Read the article on the website of Teknisk Ukeblad here (Norwegian only).
Video about the construction of the FishGLOBE V5 fish farm.