GeoSalmo has successfully completed a EUR 13.4 million (USD 14.6 million) financing round for its planned land-based salmon-farming facility in Iceland.
GeoSalmo plans to build a hybrid, flow-through salmon farm in Ölfus, near Þorlákshöfn, Iceland. When completed, the company said its facility should have the capacity to produce 24,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon annually. The project will be completed in phases, with the first phase targeting 7,500 MT of production, the company said.
In its latest financing round, the company secured Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch investors with investments from Skel Investment Company; Úthafsskip, the ownership group of Eskja – one of Iceland’s leading fishing companies;, Norwegian industrial group Endur, which has ties to the aquaculture industry and is the parent company of Artec Aqua; and Dutch processing and distribution company Adri & Zoon.
"This is a significant milestone for GeoSalmo and provides the company with the capital to take the next steps on its journey. We are extremely pleased with the group of investors joining the project now; their experience and connections will benefit us greatly in the development of our company," GeoSalmo CEO Jens Þórðarson said. "This also demonstrates investor confidence in our vision for land-based farming, our technology, and our experienced team."
Along with the investments, Pål Reiulf Olsen – chair of Endur – and Marinella Haraldsdóttir – the CEO of Úthafsskip – joined the company’s board of directors. Olsen and Haraldsdóttir will serve on the board alongside GeoSalmo founder and main shareholder Aðalsteinn Jóhannsson.
The company has completed environmental and planning assessments, has secured long-term power supply agreements, and, in August 2022, selected Artec Aqua to design the farm. Since that time, it has agreed on the design and construction of the facility, it said.
The company announced in June that it secured a power and purchase agreement with ON (Orka Náttúrunnar) Power for 28 megawatts of power, which it said will meet all of its farming needs. It plans to build an on-site smolt facility, a grow-out facility, and a processing plant on its site.
Photo courtesy of GeoSalmo
