Up to 90% of shrimp farmers reported having trouble with the high prices of diesel fuel and electricity used for farming; some farmers even reported having no access to electricity at all in their ponds. This has caused pond productivity to drop, which has raised the mortality rate of shrimp. An example is a vannamei shrimp farmer in Pemalang Regency, Indonesia. They received a monthly bill amounting to IDR 108 million charged for the operationalisation of 140 waterwheels required for the farming process. The decision to reduce the amount of waterwheel did not have a significant impact on the cost they were charged for the farming activity.
In seeing this matter, a solution is needed by the shrimp farmers to help them lower fuel/electricity operational costs yet at the same time, still preserve the amount of oxygen levels for the ponds. By doing so, they will maintain the optimization of the production without having to be worried about the extreme cost of electricity. Therefore, a group of entrepreneurs from Surabaya established a start-up called Crustea, which then worked on an innovation in aeration technology called Eco-Aerator, an eco-friendly aerator that uses microbubbles to raise the levels of dissolved oxygen (DO). The Eco-Aerator is equipped with an SCC (Solar Charge Controller) and uses a battery, which functions to store electrical energy that has been stored during the day with solar panels. Eco-Aerators are more environmentally friendly compared to conventional aerators, which cause air pollution in the environment.
With this technology, the expenses for farming operations can be reduced by up to 80% since its efficiency has been maximised by an integrated system that runs on solar power. With the application of impeller innovation, the Eco-Aerator can produce microbubbles for optimal shrimp harvest, up to a 200% increase in output, and larger, healthier shrimp. Crustea believes that Eco-Aerator technology will play a major role in Indonesian pond aeration in the future.
Farmers who use Crustea technology save a lot of money on fuel and power, and it is safe for the ecosystem around ponds. The farmer’s mobile connects automatically or through the Crustea website, making it simple to monitor ponds anywhere, at any time, in real time, thanks to the use of smart AI and IoT. Naturally, farmers no longer have to struggle to manually assess the quality of their ponds. Furthermore, aerators that are controlled and monitored by the Crustea system do not have to run continuously.
“This Eco-Aerator innovation is able to reduce our operational costs by reducing electricity costs,” said Dwi Putiardi of PT Inti Rasa Jaya Sentosa, one of the Gresik farmers who also expressed gratitude for the benefits of this technology. Additionally, Eco-Aerators help keep our shrimp’s pond water clean, increasing pond productivity,” said him.
The Eco-Aerator technology is expected to lower carbon dioxide emissions by around 75 million tonnes. Furthermore, it is anticipated that 150,000 fish farmers will profit from increased production, enabling them to generate over 70 million tonnes of fishery products. Crustea intends to contribute to raising the economic value of fish farmers, preserving Indonesia’s food security, and saving the planet for a brighter future by employing the ecologically friendly and intelligent pond technology that Crustea has developed.
Crustea’s journey
Crustea was able to attract more than 200 farmers from East Java, Central Java, Belitong, and Lampung interested in purchasing after a month of product pre-launching. In the next three years, Crustea intends to reach 500 domestic and international clients.
The technological innovation of Eco-Aerator has also won numerous awards, both domestically and abroad. A few of these accolades include first place from Techstar at Startup Weekend Indonesia, first place from PT Astra Digital International at the Startup Astranauts competition, and second place from APEC Catalyst Pitch Competition International in San Francisco, USA. In addition, Crustea was given the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs 2023’s “Entrepreneur Award”. Naturally, the goal of Crustea is to help build a sustainable aquaculture ecology.
With this goal, at the AIS Forum Crustea was also involved in directly experiencing the innovation of Azura Indonesia Startup in Bali which operates in clean technology, which has a big impact on fishermen, and this has an impact on Crustea namely, Crustea can find out about businesses from various countries and have the opportunity to collaborate, especially in clean energy and focusing on climate. Because of this, Crustea can support the SDGs.
Written by
Crustea’s team
AIS Startup Blue Business Summit startup
