It all began in 2018. Ulysse Hay, our founder, and his father took part in the takeover of an ornamental fish farm in the Northern Vosges. There they discovered aquaponics, and it was love at first sight! A first small-scale trial produced food that won over a Michelin-starred chef nearby.
The idea of creating a large-scale aquaponic farm was born.
Ulysse went to business school and used those years to refine the concept and carry out the first feasibility studies. Aquaponeasy was officially founded in 2023. The health crisis, repeated droughts and our growing dependence on imports finally convinced us that large-scale aquaponics will eventually establish itself.
In 2024, Aurélie Muller joined the adventure. A two-time world champion in the 10 km open water swim, she has built her whole career in water and finds in aquaponics a concrete way to protect this resource she cares so deeply about.
During our search for a site, in early 2025 the town of Vic-sur-Seille welcomed us and offered us a plot of land. The site is ideally located along the Nancy-Metz-Luxembourg corridor, at the heart of one of the most dynamic economic areas in Europe, in a region with a strong agricultural identity and within the Lorraine Regional Nature Park. In June the sale agreement was signed and the preliminary design studies were launched.
We want to build a model that is as self-sufficient and as circular as possible. That is why we are working to control the whole chain, from fry and seed through to the finished product on the plate.
1Fry and seeds
2Fish rearing
3Growing
4Slaughter and processing
5Table and shop
An aquaponic farm is organised into several areas: the aquaculture halls, the greenhouses, the plant rooms and the processing unit. Click on the yellow dots to see inside our farm in pictures.
We will produce several ranges of products.
Fresh fish, whole, gutted or filleted, processed in our own facility,
as well as fruit and vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and microgreens.
Rainbow trout
Brook trout
Pikeperch
Heirloom tomatoes
Strawberries
Courgettes
Aubergines
Peppers and chillies
Batavia lettuce
Little gem lettuce
Oak leaf lettuce
Mixed salad leaves
Rocket
Basil
Chives
Dill
Mint
Pansies and nasturtiums
Microgreens
Smoked fillets and gravlax
Soups
Fish rillettes
Pesto
Jams
Our farm in Vic-sur-Seille is a pilot, the first of our project.
But in reality, many other areas would gain from hosting an aquaponic farm.
Here is why it would be worth developing one in yours:
01
Today, fish, fruit and vegetables often come from far away. Producing them less than 100 km from where they are eaten, with sustainable technology, sharply reduces transport and guarantees a fresh harvest in every season.
02
A one-hectare farm like ours creates around ten direct jobs, none of which can be offshored, in production, processing and sales. It also supports a whole supply chain around it.
03
A single site brings together fish farming, market gardening, processing and fertiliser production through vermicomposting. These synergies give the project its profitability and its roots in the local area.
04
The closed circuit reuses almost all of the water and releases nothing into the environment, unlike fish farming at sea or in rivers. Our crops are protected and adapted to global warming.
05
Aquaponics adapts to almost any climate. Cold water, warm water or even brackish water, temperate or tropical crops: each farm is designed almost to measure, according to what its area needs.
06
Because aquaponics is soilless growing, a farm can be built on a brownfield site, a contaminated site or a plot with no agronomic value. Land that had no further use becomes useful and productive again.
07
Data centres and industrial sites give off heat all year round. A greenhouse built alongside one could reuse that heat to produce warm-water fish and plants, at any time of year.
See what has already been done, what our next steps are
and where we want to go in the long run.
Summer 2025
Autumn 2025
Spring 2026
Summer 2026
Autumn 2026
Winter and spring 2027
Spring and summer 2027
2027 à 2030
From 2030
The round is open and we are aiming to close it by the end of 2026, so that construction can start in early 2027.
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