The current high price of electricity has improved Norwegian land-based aquaculture company Andfjord Salmon’s competitive position compared to other land-based facilities, the company said in its Q3 2021 results.
Andfjord Salmon CEO Martin Rasmussen said the company’s flow-through aquaculture system with laminar waterflow technology and its use of land-based pools placed below the level of the ocean surface means minimal energy is needed to pump its water. The flow-through design, using seawater at a constant temperature from below the danger levels for sea lice and algal blooms, also minimizes the need for the company to constantly filter or heat and cool water, with company calculations estimating it will take just 1 kWh to produce one kilo of fish once the farm becomes operational.
During Q3, Andfjord Salmon completed the installation of vital components to finalize the first pool at its Kvalnes site, including water-measurement systems, power switches, and the last section of the water-intake filter. The outer section of the water inlet pipeline was also successfully installed, meaning that Andfjord Salmon can now source fresh seawater from its desired depth, Rasmussen said. The next step for the company is to carry out an extensive test program of its pool and pipeline functions, along with verification of sensors and the filtration system for discharge water.
“The testing process is providing the answers we wanted,” Rasmussen said. “We recently emptied the pool and made some planned adjustments to the valves that regulate the water level inside and outside the pool walls. Now we are preparing for an extensive test programme of the laminar water flow, lasting several months. We are entering a very exciting period for Andfjord Salmon.”
The company also made sound progress with groundwork for further pools at Kvalnes, which together with the Phase 1 pool, will take the company’s production of head-on, gutted salmon to around 12,600 metric tons (MT).
Adjacent land purchased to facilitate a Phase 3 development will take total production up to 19,000 MT HOG, Rasmussen said.
Andfjord CFO Bjarne Martinsen confirmed Andfjord Salmon remains pre-revenue and saw an operating loss of NOK 11.4 million (USD 1.3 million, EUR 1.1 million) during the quarter, compared to a loss of NOK 4.2 million (USD 460,000, EUR 409,000) in the same period last year. Andfjord Salmon is listed on the EuroNext Growth market.
Some of the company’s largest shareholders have granted a NOK 50 million (USD 5.5 million, EUR 4.9 million) unsecured loan at favorable terms of 3 percent interest and two years’ maturity, in order to fund an extended testing period of the first pool and flow-through technology, in readiness to receive the first smolts in 2022, Martinsen said.
As of 30 September, 2021, Andfjord Salmon held cash or cash equivalents of NOK 36.4 million (USD 4 million, EUR 3.6 million), not including NOK 25 million (USD 2.7 million, EUR 2.4 million) undrawn from the shareholder loan, NOK 20 million (USD 2.2 million, EUR 2 million) in an undrawn credit facility, and NOK 11 million (USD 1.2 million, EUR 1.1 million) in available grants.
Photo courtesy of Andfjord Salmon
