UK fund JLEN Environmental Assets is investing around £40 million (€47.8 million) over the next three to four years in seafood producer Hima Seafood’s planned land-based trout farm in Rjukan, Norway.
JLEN, which has a series of investments across wind solar and hydro power, as well as other areas, recently purchased a minority equity stake in Hima Seafood’s project.
When the facility is completed and fully operational, it will produce about 9,000 tonnes of trout, which is equivalent to 22,000,000 dinners per year. “This will, by far, be the world’s largest land-based trout farm,” Hima Seafoods said, adding that it will be build using the “most sustainable, scalable and environmentally conscious form” of technology.
“We are pleased to make our first investment into land-based aquaculture, contributing to the sustainable supply of trout to meet rising consumer demand,” JLEN senior independent director Richard Ramsay said.
““We consider that this investment will deliver environmental benefits to the food system and offer a product to suit today’s consumer needs,” Ramsay added.
Recently, Hima Seafood announced that it has entered into an agreement with Norwegian company Green Mountain over the reuse of waste heat from its data centre to significantly reduce its carbon footprint.
The building will be a full 320 meters long, with a floor area of around 27,000 square meters over two levels. The facility is expected to begin partially operating in 2024, with full operations beginning in 2025.
