Industry update News
Salmon Evolution nears deal for North American expansion

Norwegian land-based fish farmer, Salmon Evolution, has said it is in advanced negotiations for a high-potential site in North America.

According to the company’s Q4 report, “the North America expansion is an integral part of Salmon Evolution’s strategy towards a production capacity of 100kt HOG.” 

The initial site verification processes, including fatal flaws analyses of both water, biological, technical, and regulatory aspects, point to it being a good site for a hybrid flowthrough system.  

“Salmon Evolution sees a significant value in leveraging existing aquaculture infrastructure and value chains, enabling both scale and cost leadership, as well as reducing operational and biological risk.” 

The company is developing a hybrid flowthrough, recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) farm with a capacity of 32,000 tonnes HOG (head-on-gutted) annually at Indre Harøy, Norway.

The Indre Harøy development Phase 2 is split in two parts, with HENT taking responsibility for civil design and construction, and Artec Aqua for design, construction, and commissioning of the process facility. 

According to the company, “Phase 2 represents a major milestone in the roadmap to 100kt HOG, by adding another 7.9kt HOG of annual production volume at Indre Harøy and bringing the total up to 15.8 kt HOG per annum.” 

Salmon Evolution said it completed the initial groundworks for the grow-out section as well as preparations for the intake station throughout the second half of 2023.

It has also been working with the contractors to identify cost savings and efficiency gains compared to phase 1. Design and engineering activities went on according to plan in Q4. 

The company is also developing a plan to cover the smolt needs for the second phase which could potentially include an expansion of its current smolt facility where it’s licensed to produce up to 5 million smolt. 

“This project is ongoing but as it is interlinked with our Indre Harøy phase 2 project, no investment decision has been taken,” it said in a published report.