Feed company Nutreco has co-invested in Norwegian land-based salmon farming venture AquaCon AS, which is aiming to build a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) production facility in the U.S. state of Maryland.
AquaCon’s investment round raised a total USD 7.5 million (EUR 6.5 million) with Israeli investment company Israel Corp. and aquaculture services and equipment provider AKVA Group ASA also participating.
AquaCon Executive Chair Henrik Tangen said the company has been working on a business plan for the land-based RAS facilities since late 2019. The Eastern Shore, Maryland, location will put AquaCon’s Atlantic salmon farming facilities in close proximity to more than 70 million consumers based in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.
“We are very pleased to have Nutreco, together with Israel Corporation and AKVA Group, as cornerstone investors to prepare the company for the next step of development, Proceeds will be used to land and detailed engineering with construction start in Q1 2022,” Tangen said. “Our RAS facilities will have a strong and robust ESG profile meeting key environmental standards in the foreseeable future. The ESG profile combined with 100 percent product traceability will position AquaCon’s salmon product, fillets and portions, as premium locally-produced products.”
Announcing its investment in AquaCon, Nutreco – parent company of aquaculture feed company Skretting – confirmed it had invested in five other land-based aquaculture projects since 2019. It said land-based aquaculture was necessary as one of several protein production methods needed to help to feed a global population of almost 10 billion people in 2050.
“Our investment in AquaCon is perfectly aligned with our purpose of Feeding the Future. If we want to achieve this purpose and feed a rapidly growing population, we need to not only invest in alternative protein production methods, but work with the right partners,” Nutreco Chief Innovation Officer Viggo Halseth said. “AquaCon has a strong team of industry professionals with in-depth experience from the Norwegian salmon farming industry, including land-based smolt and grow-out facilities. Alongside Nutreco’s expertise and Skretting’s competence in developing customized aquafeeds for land-based aquaculture farming, we believe this will be a strong partnership.”
AKVA was recently awarded the contract for AquaCon’s Maryland grow-out facility, at an estimated price of USD 150 million (EUR 129.4 million) for the first phase of 16,000 metric tons (MT) of capacity.
Also last month, AKVA entered into an agreement which will see Israel Corp. take a 15 percent stake in the company. The deal will also see the two parties partner in attracting investments for land-based projects based on AKVA solutions and technology.
Photo courtesy of AquaCon
