Ålesund, Norway-based Artec Aqua has signed a contract with Icelandic start-up Geo Salmo to supply a turnkey land-based grow-out facility for Atlantic salmon at Þorlákshöfn, near Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik.
Geo Salmo, which was founded by a group of Icelandic investors and fish-farming experts, aims to be the leader in developing the land-based salmon farming industry in Iceland. The fish farm will use 100 percent renewable energy, have the lowest possible environmental footprint and contribute to a circular economy through efficient use, treatment and reuse of wastewater, effluent, and heat, according to the company.
Build-out will take place in several stages, with a planned overall capacity of 18,900 metric tons (MT) head-on gutted (HOG) fish, according to a release.
Artec Aqua has been contracted to provide design, engineering, construction, and commissioning of the farm. It estimated the cost of the first-stage build-out at between NOK 1.5 billion to NOK 1.8 billion (USD 150.6 million to USD 180.8 million, EUR 150.6 million to EUR 180.8 million). Work on the concept design is due to start immediately, with construction scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2023.
Jeppe Raaholt, the CEO of Artec Aqua’s parent company, Endúr ASA, said the contract is the company’s first outside Norway for the construction of a full-scale grow-out facility. He attributed his company’s success to the technology it has developed and the expertise gained on multiple previous projects.
“The combination of Artec Aqua’s strong knowledge and proven technology were decisive in our choice of a turnkey supplier for our project. The partnership will ensure success in our goals of producing top-quality salmon to the highest sustainability standards,” Geo Salmo CEO Jens Þórðarson said.
Iceland’s farmed fish production has increased significantly in recent years and Eidsvik hopes that the new development will open up further opportunities in the Icelandic aquaculture sector. Output rose by 35 percent to 45,458 MT in 2021, compared to the previous year, according to Statistics Iceland.
“This is an exciting project that combines our hybrid technology with the advantages of being located on Iceland, where seawater is supplied from boreholes and naturally filtered through lava rock,” Artec Aqua CEO Ingegjerd Eidsvik said.
Artec Aqua’s design calls for up to 70 percent of the water used by the farm to be recirculated. Water from smolt production will be used to nourish greenhouse plants, and sludge and effluent will be turned into biofuels. The company also plans to develop high-value products out of fish waste.
“Iceland has a rapidly growing fish farming industry. We hope that proving our competence and technology in Geo Salmo’s project can open up further opportunities in the Icelandic aquaculture sector,” Eidsvik said.
Photo courtesy of Artec Aqua
