Premium Svensk Lax (Premium Swedish Salmon) claims to have finally “cracked the code” for a successful sustainable land-based salmon farm, and has become the first company to obtain an environmental license to produce salmon on Swedish soil.
Based in Säffle, in west-central Sweden, the project is designed to produce 10,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon per year once fully operational. The 58,8000-square-meter inland salmon farm will house 88 tanks of varying sizes up to 25 meters in diameter, where salmon will be raised from egg to harvest, according to Premium Svensk Lax Founder and CEO Sanja Miljevic. A 5,000-square-meter processing and value-adding plant will be integrated into the facility, to enable Premium Svensk Lax to offer a range of fresh salmon products to the retail sector. The aim is to have products delivered to customers within hours of harvesting, Miljevic said.
“Salmon consumption is high in Sweden, and we want to give the Swedish consumer a more sustainable, fresh, and locally produced alternative. With our land-based technology, we can establish a new facility anywhere in Sweden,” Miljevic said.
To achieve harvest predictions, 40 MT of salmon will be harvested five days per week, and it is anticipated that 23.2 million meals will be produced each year. This will account for 20 percent of Sweden’s total salmon consumption from just one facility, and Miljevic said the company plans to build additional facilities in the future.
Total investment in this first integrated facility, which is one of the largest Swedish industrial initiatives in food tech, is approximately EUR 95 million (USD 112 million).
Two years in the planning, construction on the project should start later this year, with the facility aiming to ramp up to full production in 2024, according to Miljevic. According to Per Lindberg, chair of Premium Svensk Lax, the Swedish market is ready for truly sustainably produced salmon.
“With this project, we are harnessing the potential of the new technology, creating attractive opportunities for investors, customers and continued expansion,” he said.
Traditional sea-pen and coastal-based land farming of salmon have been restricted in Sweden due to environmental restrictions the country. According to Premium Svensk Lax, the company received permitting due to its environmental standards and use of modern technology.
Miljevic is also involved in Green Sea Harvest, a Norwegian-owned company with subsidiaries in Sweden and Singapore, and byproducts from Premium Svensk Lax production will be sent to a new manufacturing facility planned by Green Sea Harvest, to be used in the manufacture of premium pet food. Sludge waste from the salmon farm will be turned into biogas and biofertilizer products.
While the Premium Svensk Lax project is the first land-based salmon farm to get the green light in Sweden, several others are awaiting permission. Nordic Salmon is planning a 10,000 MT recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in the grounds of a 17th century Swedish castle, and Lighthouse Finance has entered an agreement with the Municipality of Sotenäs to form, Quality Salmon, which has plans to grow 100,000 MT of Atlantic salmon per year in three RAS facilities.
Photo courtesy of Premium Svensk Lax
