Kvarøy Arctic’s parent company Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett AS is investing NOK125 million ($16 million) in the upgrade and expansion of its Kvarøy Smolt facility ensuring increased production and more efficient use of resources while maintaining the high level of quality throughout its value chain. The upgraded facility will reduce energy consumption by up to 50% while optimizing growing conditions and welfare for the fish. With this expansion, Kvarøy Smolt will have the capacity to produce up to 10 million smolt per year, nearly double its current volume, with a smaller energy footprint than its current production model.
“This investment means we have better control in the smolt phase of production and that ultimately leads to increased production of fish,” said Kvarøy Arctic and Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett CEO, Alf-Gøran Knutsen. “This project also lifts the total sustainability in our overall production of fish. We are always looking to improve and this is a perfect example of how we are accomplishing that goal.”
With the investment, Kvarøy Smolt will renovate two production halls, install a new energy and treatment plant, create a new administration building, and optimize water quality throughout the production. New steel tanks from AKVA Group, each holding approximately 190,000 liters of water, will be installed to nearly double the volume of smolt production. Each tank will utilize an oxygen recovery and CO2 stripping system, which reduces water consumption. To reduce its energy consumption, Kvarøy Smolt buys hot water from the adjacent Mo Fjernvarme and utilizes the residual cooling water from nearby Elkem Rana’s furnaces.
“Expansion of our facility in this location means we can support our own business and the surrounding businesses by harnessing and recycling energy. Through our collaborations, we do not need a greater freshwater supply. We’re fully utilizing residual resources,” said project manager, Stig Joar Krogli.
Mo Industripark’s companies have a reputation for their sustainable use of resources. Through the Moakvaponi pilot program, Kvarøy Smolt is one of several companies striving to build a circular system. Currently, research is underway to determine if cleaned and dried waste from Kvarøy Smolt can be used to grow vegetables on a large scale inside the industrial park. The project is in cooperation with SINTEF, Mo Industrial Park, and BaRe dept. Mo i Rana.
