Salmon Evolution picks Artec Aqua for phase two construction on its land-based salmon facility

Salmon Evolution has picked Artec Aqua, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endúr ASA, as the contractor for phase two of its land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Harøy, Norway.

Salmon Evolution is constructing a flow-through salmon aquaculture system in an abandoned quarry, with an eventual goal of producing up to 50,000 metric tons (MT) at the farm once completed. The company’s eventual goal is to farm up to 100,000 MT of salmon across multiple farms by 2032.

The company had its first fish harvest from phase one of the facility in November 2022, and successfully had a private placement in April for NOK 525 million (USD 48 million, EUR 44 million) to build phase two of the facility. The company also secured a NOK 1.55 billion (USD 143 million, EUR 131 million) green debt financing package to continue the scheduled development of its facility. 

Now, the company is starting to move forward with phase two, and Artec Aqua has already commenced the project design phase of the facility. According to the two companies, phase two – including the civil works and the processing facility, will cost an estimated NOK 1.6 billion to NOK 1.7 billion (USD 147 million to USD 157 million, EUR 135 million to EUR 143 million).

“Salmon Evolution sets the bar high when it comes to quality of our suppliers and the services they provide. Artec Aqua has proven that they possess the competence and capabilities to deliver build-out projects according to our expectations,” Salmon Evolution CEO Trond Håkon Schaug-Pettersen said. “We look forward to cooperating with them on this phase too.”

Artec Aqua also conducted the design, construction, and commissioning of phase one of Salmon Evolution's flagship Indre Harøy flow-through facility. The groundwork for phase two has already been started, with a start to construction works slated “by year-end” 2023, Salmon Evolution said. 

The contract includes the intention for Artec Aqua to provide technical infrastructure for Salmon Evolution’s phase three construction – which will be double the size compared to phases one and two. 

“We are delighted to be awarded this contract and to continue our long-standing cooperation with Salmon Evolution,” Artec Aqua CEO Ingegjerd Eidsvik said. “Overall, the results at Indre Harøy have been excellent, and the feedback from our customer is that our project execution and our technology is a major contributor to this success.”

Salmon Evolution was recently hit by an outbreak of amoebic gill disease at its Indre Harøy facility, which caused between 0.3 percent and 7.9 percent mortalities per fish batch – amounting to 310 MT. The announcement on 28 April caused the company’s share price to drop 10 percent in value on 29 April, and since that time, the share price has continued to drop – reaching a low of NOK 6.02 (USD 0.55, EUR 0.51) on 23 June, down from NOK 7.85 (USD 0.72, EUR 0.66) on 28 April.  

Photo courtesy of Artec Aqua/Tone Molnes