Laminar flow is green for go, says on-land salmon farmer
Andfjord Salmon, which is developing a novel flow-through salmon farm at Kvalnes on the Norwegian island of Andøya has verified the laminar water flow technology at its first pool through testing, it said today.
“In practice, this confirms that we have been able to recreate wild salmon’s natural habitat on land,” said chief executive Martin Rasmussen.
“In the wild, salmon swim in laminar water flows in the ocean, similar to what we now have in our pool at Andøya. Never have I been more certain that we will meet our ambition of building the world’s most sustainable aquaculture facility of its kind.”
Maximum water flow
During the past couple of weeks, Andfjord Salmon has gradually increased the intensity of its flow-through technology tests. These have included utilisation of the complete water inlet and outlet infrastructure, filling of pool, activation of power adapters, gradual increase of the laminar water flow – from minimum to maximum – and measurements of the water flow, plus analyses of how the pool infrastructure reacts to the laminar water flow.
The laminar water flow is the heart of Andfjord Salmon’s flow-through technology which the company says enables the creation of a natural environment in which salmon can thrive and also allows the production fish at an energy cost at only 1 kWh per kilo.
A flow-through system with laminar water flow reduces energy consumption and associated costs significantly, says Andfjord, as there is no need to lift, filter or heat the seawater which is clean and holds a perfect temperature as it is sourced from depth directly from the nearby Andfjorden.
A nice Christmas present
“This is a major technological milestone for Andfjord Salmon and a really nice Christmas present to our shareholders, utilising our own technology,” said Rasmussen. “We were always confident in the technological capabilities, but humble to the fact demonstrating it in practice is what matters. As such, the successful verification of the laminar water flow helps to de-risk our business case substantially.”
The testing and fine tuning of the laminar water flow technology, and other pool functions, will continue over the coming months.
Andfjord Salmon’s aim is to release first smolt during the second quarter of next year. The pool, which is 20 metres deep, will hold more than 1,000 tonnes of salmon.
The company holds a licence to produce 12,600 gutted weight tonnes of Atlantic salmon and has secured rights to land for a planned expansion of an additional 77,400 gwt production capacity. That expansion is subject to the zoning of the land and granting of licences.
