Nernst Electric raises $2M seed to make oxygen on-site for fish farms
What's the deal? Irish startup Nernst ElectricDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $2 million in seed funding to build a demonstration unit for its on-site oxygen-generation technology. The round was led by the Blue Revolution Fund, with participation from Hatch BlueDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? Nernst uses ceramic membranes to separate oxygen from ambient air on-site, producing gas exceeding 99% purity. Land-based fish farms need a continuous supply of oxygen, but most rely on trucked liquid oxygen or on-site adsorption generators — costly and complex arrangements, especially in remote coastal locations. The company says its system offers a cheaper, more energy-efficient alternative.
Where does the money go? The $2 million will fund an on-farm demonstration unit to validate performance in a real farming environment. A successful trial would open the door to commercial customer testing and a Series A round to scale across the sector.
Why now? Nernst joined Hatch Blue's portfolio in July 2025, taking pre-seed funding through the Hatch Accelerator Fund II and attending its accelerator programme. It later joined an aquatech innovation studio run with Bord Iascaigh MharaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (BIM), Ireland's seafood development agency.
Beyond aquaculture: The technology has applications in heavy industries such as mining, steel manufacturing, and energy, which face similar oxygen supply constraints at industrial scale. That dual-market reach drew the investors in.
"The platform that solves critical oxygen supply for fish farms has industrial-scale application across heavy industry," said Carsten Krome, managing partner and co-founder at Hatch Blue. "That is exactly what gives the Blue Revolution Fund the conviction to back it."
The signal: At $2 million, this is a modestly sized seed round, but it reflects sustained investor appetite for aquatech that reaches beyond its origins. As Richard Donnelly, chief executive of BIM, put it, there is "growing recognition that aquaculture can meet rising global demands for sustainable and nutritious food."
Read more: The Fish Site
Image credit: USFWS Mountain Prairie
