Norway state lends on-land salmon project NOK 140m
Salmon Evolution, which is building a 36,600-tonne on-land salmon farm in Norway, has agreed a NOK 140 million (£11.9m) loan from state-owned development bank Innovation Norway.
The money will help finance the first phase of the facility on the island of Indre Harøy, and is in addition to a previously loan of NOK 625m from Nordea and Sparebanken Vest.
"We are very pleased with being able to continue to attract strong support from leading financial institutions,” said Salmon Evolution’s finance chief, Trond Håkon Schaug-Pettersen.
“Innovation Norway has supported us from the beginning, and as such it only feels natural to have Innovation Norway playing a vital role in our financing platform as we steadily approach completion of Indre Harøy phase 1.”
‘Truly sustainable’
Helge Gjerde, regional director of Innovation Norway, said: “Facilitating innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industries are the core purpose of Innovation Norway and our support to Salmon Evolution is a perfect example on how we execute on that strategy.
“Salmon Evolution not only challenges the traditional salmon farming industry, it does so in a truly sustainable way by utilising the best natural preconditions of the ocean to farm salmon on land in a closed system while creating an optimal living environment for the fish.”
Salmon Evolution will use what it calls a hybrid flow-through system (HSF) which draws water from the sea but includes an element of recirculation.
5,000m³ tanks
The tanks being assembled on Indre Harøy are 28 metres (92 feet) in diameter and 13 metres high. The water column will be approximately eight metres and each tank will hold approximately 5,000m³ of water.
The first smolt entry will be in March 2022, with the first harvest around New Year 2022/2023, Salmon Evolution has said. All tanks in phase 1 are scheduled to be in full operation by the fourth quarter of 2022.
Salmon Evolution has formed a joint venture with South Korean seafood giant Dongwon Industries with the intention of building a 20,000-tonne salmon farm in Korea, also using the hybrid flow-through system.
