Building workers are dwarfed by the size of the tanks at Salmon Evolution's site in Norway. All photos: Salmon Evolution.

Thinking big: tanks take shape for Salmon Evolution

The ambitious scale of the on-land fish farm being built by Salmon Evolution in Norway has been illustrated in new photos released by the company.

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Work on the first phase of the Atlantic salmon facility on the island of Indre Harøy, north of Ålesund, has been going on for 11 months and the company is on schedule both in terms of time and cost.

“The status now is that we are setting up the first three tanks and are working with intake pipes / wiring. Further work will be with pipelines, technical equipment and completion of the intake station,” chief executive Håkon Andrè Berg told Fish Farming Expert’s Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no.

Håkon Andrè Berg: First harvest at the end of next year.

13 metres high

The tanks that are now being assembled are 28 metres (92 feet) in diameter and 13 metres high. According to Berg, the water column will be approximately eight metres and each tank will thus hold approximately 5,000m³ of water.

“The first smolt entry will be in March 2022, with the first harvest around New Year 2022/2023. Construction phase 1 will be fully completed, which means all tanks in full operation, during the fourth quarter of 2022,” said Berg.

With recent capital acquisitions, as well as the signing of joint venture agreements with Dongwon Industries in Korea, Salmon Evolution is fully funded for the projects it has undertaken.

70,000 tonnes

“This amounts to a total capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year. Furthermore, we have a ‘pipeline’ that promises production of 70,000 tonnes by 2030.

“We are in a phase of building an organisation and are experiencing significant interest from competent employees who want to work in the company. Our experience is that our focus on sustainable food production based on technology leadership is considered very exciting by potential employees,” Berg concluded.

Salmon Evolution will use what it describes as hybrid flow-through (HFS) technology.